


It's Christmas (Come Home, My Love)

by l_grace_b



Series: Wynonna Earp Xmas Thing [3]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Also some WynHaught shenanigans, But it's also Christmas, Gen, Nicole is sad and desperate, There's definitely magic, Wynonna Earp Xmas Thing, magic happens, we even get a little angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:33:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21776074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/l_grace_b/pseuds/l_grace_b
Summary: The gang try to rustle up some Christmas spirit...and might end up saving Waverly and Doc in the process.---Or, the 2019 Wynonna Earp Xmas Thing
Relationships: Nicole Haught & Wynonna Earp, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Series: Wynonna Earp Xmas Thing [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1223969
Comments: 16
Kudos: 79





	1. I wish I had a river I could skate away on

Days.

Wake.

Shower.

Dress.

Coffee.

Cat.

Weeks.

Boots.

Belt.

Badge.

Drive.

Work.

Numb.

Cold.

Months.

Empty.

Hopeless.

\---

Being sheriff had its perks.

Choosing when and how to cover shifts.

Volunteering for speed trap duty on the farthest reaches of the county that even Revenants wouldn't dare traverse.

But it was the quietest place

Far enough away to not be bothered.

But close enough to not have people think she was running away.

She couldn't run away.

She sat.

Watching the horizon. Cold, blank, bleak.

Waiting.

\---

_*THUNK*_

Nicole flinched, lurching forward, only to be held back against her seat.

She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the beams of cool light streaming in through the snow speckled on her windshield. She undid the buckle, rubbed her collarbone where her seatbelt restrained her.

_*THUNK*_

Nicole yelped as snow sprayed against the driver's side window.

Still delirious from waking up, she turned on her wipers, easily brushing off the frozen snow, and surveyed the road in front of her. The nearest patch of trees was still fifty yards away. No breeze or could've put a single fallen snowflake out of place.

It hadn't been warm for months.

She heard a muffled voice outside her car. Unable to see out the driver's side, she rolled down her window. Standing a few feet away from her car was Wynonna, another snowball in hand.

"Asleep on the job again, Haught? Not a great look for our town's favorite sheriff." She leaned down and picked up a thermos on the ground next to her. "Figured you needed a pick-me-up. Don't want you falling asleep at the wheel and crashing into a ditch or something stupid like that."

Nicole gestured to her vehicle. "Not driving. Won't for a while."

"Those pesky trees, though. They jump out at you when you least expect it. Need to always be on high alert." Wynonna sauntered over to the car, still tossing the snowball in the air and catching it with one hand.

Nicole let out a frustrated exhale. "You know you could've just called me, right? Or knocked on the window, like a normal person."

"Where's the fun in that?" Wynonna tossed the snowball over her shoulder and leaned against Nicole's door. "Needed the target practice anyway."

Nicole reached out her window for the thermos. "Thanks for the coffee. Is there whiskey in it?"

"No promises," said Wynonna. She yanked the thermos away just as Nicole's fingertips brushed against it.

"Hey!"

Wynonna held the thermos away from her. "Let me sit in the car for a while. I'm freezing my gonads off out here."

Nicole sighed and made a swipe for the thermos again.

Wynonna took a few steps away from the car, still holding the thermos barely out of Nicole's reach. "Let me in. _Then_ you'll get your coffee."

Nicole glared at Wynonna. Wynonna glared right back, even raising an eyebrow. Nicole rested her head against her headrest. "Five minutes," she grumbled. "That's it."

She rolled up her window and unlocked the doors. It took but a few seconds for Wynonna to bound over to the other side of the car and slide into the passenger seat.

Before Wynonna even closed the door, Nicole held out her hand. "Coffee. Please." 

"So demanding." Wynonna passed the thermos over the center console.

Nicole quickly spun off the top of the thermos, pouring the hot contents into the lid. Steam curled off the dark liquid, filling the cab. She paused before taking a sip. She offered the cap to Wynonna. "Coffee?" 

Wynonna shook her head. "There's no whiskey in it."

The two sat in silence as Nicole drank two, three capfuls of coffee (Wynonna made really good coffee). It warmed her up, but didn't do anything to stave off the tiredness she couldn't seem to shake since…

"Anything wild and crazy to report today? I see you've opted for the land yacht instead of the cruiser." Wynonna gestured to the SUV.

"Nedley wanted me to take the SUV out today," said Nicole defensively. "It does better in the ice."

Wynonna rolled her eyes. "Man's been retired for almost a year and he's still giving you orders."

"Hey, it's not my fault we only have five squad cars for an entire department."

"Wasn't that supposed to be your job anyway? To be the person who, like, actually got things done?"

Nicole shrugged. "Yeah. Same city council, though. Same penny-pinching Bunny Loblaw." The end of her sentence was clouded by a long yawn.

"You sure you're okay out here?"

"I'm fine," said Nicole shortly. She poured herself another capful of coffee and downed it in one gulp. "Just didn't sleep well last night."

"You _never_ sleep well," Wynonna murmured.

"And you're surprised?"

A bitterness rivaled by the coffee hung in the air between them

Because, of course, they both knew the answer.

No.

Nobody was surprised.

Nobody slept soundly. Or could go five minutes in a conversation without their mind drifting elsewhere.

Not when their family was still…wherever they were.

But life had to go on.

People of Purgatory ignored the demons…they could ignore two people missing to another dimension.

There were no search parties.

No billboards.

No rallying of the troops outside of a retired sheriff, an arborist, a scientist…but even they had day jobs. 

Missing people was a lonely endeavor.

"You've been out here all week, Nicole. Don't you have other deputies who can do this? Isn't that what they're _for_?"

"It's the holidays. People want to spend time with their families." Nicole kept her gaze toward the snowy horizon, clouded by 

"And that somehow doesn't include you? You've bailed on me and Jeremy and Robin and Thai food and Die Hard 2 three times this week. You deserve to spend time with your people just as much as anyone."

Nicole took another sip of coffee. "Well, you know…Christmas gets kinda crazy this time of year."

"With what? People creating power surges with their Christmas lights? Carolers changing the lyrics "Joy to the World" to something unsavory? Aren't you flatfoots supposed to be Santa and his elves down at the Christmas tree lot, anyways?"

"Not this year. Like you said, I'm sheriff now. I can delegate."

"I thought you liked that elf costume, though." Wynonna waggled her eyebrows.

Nicole's cheeks went warm, and she promptly averted Wynonna's gaze. "Still, never liked Christmas much to begin with."

"You?" Wynonna snorted, leaning toward Nicole. "You wore an elf costume for three days and you showed up for Christmas dinner wearing a sweater with a picture of your cat shooting laser at elves with her eyes on it. That doesn't seem like someone who hates Christmas."

"First of all," Nicole held up a finger to Wynonna, "that costume was for work. Second of all…Waverly got me that sweater." She dropped her hands in her lap.

"Oh." Wynonna sat back in her seat.

"We never really did the whole Christmas thing at my house growing up," Nicole continued. "At least, not the kid-friendly version. It was always these lavish parties with hors d'oeuvres and a three-piece jazz combo and black ties and lots of drinking and…zero kids."

"So you never got into the whole believing in Santa thing, did you?" Wynonna nabbed the thermos from Nicole and took a sip.

Nicole shook her head. "My parents never let me believe. They spoiled that immediately when I came home from school after hearing other kids talk about it. Squashed that childhood magic. They were good at that."

"Wow. Your parents _are_ assholes."

"Then, when I got older, it just became one of those things I tried to avoid at all costs," Nicole continued. "Hated everything about Christmas. The lights, the smells, the damn songs."

"Nicole Haught, bona fide Grinch. Who would've thunk." Wynonna placed the thermos--now empty--into the cupholder next to Nicole. "And then, lemme guess, Waverly came along and your whole life changed and now Christmas is your favorite holiday and blabitty-blah-blah…"

Nicole winced slightly. Every time her name was said, it was like a bell in the distance, something far away, muffled, sacred.

As was Wynonna's calls to her, back in the real world.

"Earth to Sheriff Haught!" Wynonna waved a hand in front of Nicole's face. "I didn't really mean it like…I mean, it's great that your heart grew three sizes in a single day, but--"

Again, Nicole's mind drifted, pulled away again by the reverberations of a sound she was afraid would disappear into the atmosphere. She feared the day the final wave would evaporate, lost to all time and dimensions.

"You talk about her as if she's not missing," she said, her voice barely enough to come out as a wisp in the cold. She wasn't even sure she said the words out loud--words that have been circling her mind for weeks, but here never brave enough to surface--until Wynonna responded, almost as quietly.

"She _is_ missing. But she can't be some entity that we're too scared to even _think_ about. It's why you come out here. To hide. Or mope." It wasn't a question.

"And what have you been trying to do about it?" Nicole rounded on Wynonna. "Lounging around the BBD office with Jeremy for weeks and not a single damn lead on how to even _start_ to get them back."

Wynonna opened her mouth to retort, but her eyes went wide at something through the windshield.

"Uh. Nicole?" She pointed across the dashboard. "Looks like we've got company…"

Grateful for the change in topic, Nicole turned around to look out the front window of her cruiser. Her eyes went just as wide as Wynonna's when they landed on the addition to the wintery scene before them.

A hooded figure in light gray robes stood in the middle of the road. Their robes billowed around them, despite the lack of any sort of breeze.

"Wynonna, what did you put in that coffee?"

" _Nothing._ If I did, you think we'd be hallucinating the same thing?"

Nicole leaned on her horn. Flipped on her sirens. Nothing disturbed the figure.

"Why do I feel this isn't some rogue Nativity actor?"

They slowly got out of the car. Bracing themselves against the still and bitter air. Nicole's hand hovering at her holster. Wynonna immediately unsheathed Peace Maker from the scabbard strapped to her back.

They eased toward the figure. The closer they got, the clearer the figure became. A gold rope was tied around their waist. Even though their distance diminished to a few yards, the figure was still blurred around the edges. Until they realized that, somehow, a small flurry of snow flakes swirled around the figure.

"Can we help you? Can I give you a ride back into town?" Nicole offered, reaching the closest proximity with which she was comfortable standing by the figure.

"You better start talking or I'm gonna shish kabob you and we're gonna roast you with our chestnuts," Wynonna demanded, holding her sword in front of her.

" _Wynonna._ "

A voice--serene and resounding--echoed around them, through them.

"I've been waiting for you. Or, rather, I suppose, it is you who has been waiting for me."

The figure turned their head, immediately causing Wynonna and Nicole to leap backwards. Their eyes were milky and unseeing. Long, silver hair framed their pale face. A crown of greenery encircled their head.

The figure waved a hand, and Peace Maker diminished from Wynonna's hand, leaving her with just her clenched fist raised in the air. Nicole's hip suddenly felt lighter as well. She felt for her utility belt and found that her fire arm was gone.

"Ooookay, then." Nicole held her hands up. She nudged Wynonna to do the same. "We weren't gonna hurt you."

"Unless you hurt us first," Wynonna quipped.

"I have arrived to help," the figure continued, unperturbed. 

Wynonna scoffed. "Considering we don't even know who you are, I'd say you have no idea what you're talking about." 

"You are missing…something."

"Yeah, my sword." Wynonna began to march forward, but Nicole caught her arm and held her back.

"Your weapon is fine. You will find that it is in the expected condition when I return you. I am not interested in a squabble with humans. It is not like my kind. No, what you are missing is something…Irreplaceable. Precious."

" _Waverly…_ " Nicole breathed.

"And what exactly _is_ your kind? Who _are_ you, anyway?" Wynonna pressed on. "Are you sure you're even after the right people?"

"Nicole and Wynonna…"

"Aw, shit, she _is_ after us…" Wynonna groaned.

"The mortals call me Frau Holle. I am the bringer of the new and the lost."

"So where the hell have you been? Our… _things_ have been lost for months," Wynonna demanded, taking a step toward Frau Holle.

"I follow the winter across the mortal world, for it is the only season in which I can sustain my form."

"Cool story, Frau Blucher. But we're not interested in whatever you're offering. So, we'll just be on our merry way, and if you could at least send my magical glowing sword first class, that'd be great. C'mon, Nicole…"

Nicole's feet were frozen to the icy road, her eyes fixated on Frau Holle. The longer she looked, the more calm she felt, the more… _hopeful_ she felt.

"Can…can you actually do that?" Nicole took a step forward. "Can you really bring them back?"

"Nicole, no…" Wynonna grabbed Nicole's arm, yanking her back. Wynonna leaned in close to Nicole's ear, facing away from the spirit. "You're not about to make a deal with some winter demon."

Nicole sidestepped Wynonna, pulling her arm from her grasp, and moved closer to the Frau. "What do we need to do?"

"Meet me at the place where hell and sanctuary meet. And I shall give you answers to that which you seek. Bring something of whom you lost before the last light of the solstice."

Without another word, the figure disappeared in a cloud of snow.

Something felt heavy against Nicole's hip again. In her peripheral vision, she watched as Peace Maker--once suspended in the air--drop to the ground.

Nicole opened her mouth, but Wynonna's raised hand kept her words unspoken.

"Nope. If I'm going to process this, I need to go to Shorty's."

\---

Mid-December blew into Purgatory in a fury of sleet and freezing rain and sub-zero temperatures that kept everything frozen.

But it was always cold.

It had been cold since that day.

Even the summer--usually warm, even scorching--felt cool. Unpleasant.

Like any warmth that tried to trickle into town was immediately scared away by…something.

At first, everything was frenzied and manic.

Fear. Anger. Bargaining. Depression.

But…a lull settled over everything after a few weeks.

What more could they do?

They tried everything.

Nothing.

So they waited.

And waited.

Waited for an indication that it was all over, they were too late, not enough…or they had an opportunity to fight another day.

Anything was better than nothing.

A marathon, not a sprint.

Waiting for something--anything--to decide that it was the time to appear and end it all.

\-----

_"No."_

_"Listen…I know it's crazy…"_

_"It_ is crazy!"

Nicole climbed the stairs, the voices in her head louder than the creaking steps she was trying to avoid.

_"Absolutely not."_

_"But why won't you--"_

_"I said no!" Wynonna stopped pacing in the living room of the Homestead._

She shuffled down the hall, her footsteps as light as her boots would allow.

_"Let's see…last times we made deals with demons" Wynonna put up her fingers. "Lost my gun. Disappeared into an alternate universe. Like, several times. Resurrected the Demon-to-end-all-demons." She counted off. "Not the best track record."_

_"Because she could get us into the Garden and free--"_

_"Or maybe she was just saying that so we could go on some quest in a completely different direction and trick us into being their sexy demon slaves for the rest of eternity."_

It only takes a few steps before she's standing in front of the door at the end of the hall. Something tightens itself around Nicole's chest as she reaches for the doorknob.

_"How can you possibly know it won't work?"_

_"Exactly. They must know we're desperate. They just want more of us now. How do you know they won't conjure up some sexy pink fog and lure us into the Garden. Then what would we do?"_

_"She's not a vampire."_

She pushed in the door.

_"It's been months, Wynonna. Since we've had any sort of lead."_

_"I know how to use a calendar, Nicole." Wynonna let out a long sigh. "I'm not doing it. And neither should you."_

_"Fine."_

_"Good."_

Nicole's nostrils filled with the smell of lavender shampoo.

Then came the dust.

Collected on the vanity, the window sill. Patches in the corners and along the baseboards. The curtains were still slightly drawn, the early sunset peeking through the window.

_It had to be in here…somewhere…_

She opened dresser drawers, the trunk under the bed.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the door of the closet crawlspace, left open just a crack. Just enough of an invitation…

"What are you doing?"

Nicole jumped, nearly smacking her head on the doorframe. She scrambled out of the crawlspace and found Wynonna standing in the doorway of Waverly's room.

"I'm looking for…a shirt." Nicole felt the heat rise on her neck. She tried to rub it away with her hand "A sweater, actually. I've been looking for it, and I maybe thought I left it here."

Wynonna hummed in response, but did not appear to truly hear her. She stepped further into the room, her gaze traveling nearly the same path Nicole's had. Imagining this room's inhabitant moving through the space, feeling guilty for letting the space go unoccupied.

"I'm sorry I'm in here. I really should have asked." Nicole took a cautious step toward Wynonna.

Wynonna waved a dismissive hand at her. "Don’t be. Just…" Her eyes searched the room once more, as if to etch every detail into her mind, as if it would disappear as soon as she left. "Don't stay here too long. It's not good for you. If you're not down in half an hour I'm sending a search party."

Wynonna looked at Nicole, her eyes suddenly soft and pleading, recalling a conversation held in the same spot, months before.

_Staying in here longer won't bring her back._

With a wordless nod exchanged between them, Wynonna left Nicole alone with the dust and the wishes for things to be different.

As soon as the door shut behind Wynonna, Nicole promptly walked back over to the closet.

When she opened the door to the crawlspace again, her eyes landed on something poking out of the cardboard box she had dropped when Wynonna came in.

_Of course._

She paused before reaching for the swath of bright red fabric.

She had a choice.

She had a chance.

Dust off this room, bring it back to life.

Fill it with everything.

Or seal it forever, watch it become a shrine for the rest of her days.

_Oh I love you, love you, love you, more each year…_

"I have to run back into town," Nicole called to Wynonna as she came down the stairs. "Got a call from the station. Something about an emergency down at the reindeer corral. I'll be back soon."

\-----

The roads were just as quiet and deserted as that morning.

Nicole knew every inch of side road and back country of the county. She could drive to the north gate with her eyes closed.

She pulled her cruiser as far as the terrain would let her. She kept her high beams on, shining a spotlight toward the stone archway. She grabbed the bundle from the seat next to her and stepped out into the frigid night.

Ice crunched underneath her boots as she maneuvered over rocks and tree roots camouflaged by the caps of frozen snow.

"Okay, Frau Holle." She placed the bundle of cloth at the mouth of the stone archway, caught in the beam of the headlights. "Tell me what I need to do."

Nicole took a few steps backward. She closed her eyes, wishing, willing, waiting…

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Nicole spun around, nearly tripping over a root. When she steadied herself, she had to shield her eyes from her high beams. She lowered her hand when something stepped into the path of light. Wynonna stood in front of the SUV, arms crossed over her chest.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Nicole gestured flippantly to the monument behind her. "I'm getting Waverly and Doc back!"

Even in the dark, Nicole could sense the questioning eyebrow creeping up Wynonna's forehead. She let out a long sigh, her shoulder slumping. "How'd you figure out I was lying?"

Wynonna stepped closer to Nicole. "You really think I wouldn't believe you would still come out here because you're that damn stubborn?" She half-heartedly gestured to Nicole. "You also left your belt hanging by the door. You're not careless enough to leave that if you're going on duty."

Nicole hung her head, shame, guilt, humiliation rising in her chest. "Why did you come, then?"

"Because if things get weird…I can't lose you, too. And like hell you're getting my baby sister back without me."" Wynonna nodded toward the arch. "So that's what you're using to conjure Waverly back? That's why you were sneaking around the Homestead?"

"Yeah." Nicole rubbed her arms nervously.

"Seems like a decent choice. Even fits with the Christmas mood," Wynonna glanced around. "Any sign of the ghost of rescuing loved ones for Christmas?"

Nicole looked at her watch, then up at the sky. In the distance, the last beams of daylight struggled to stay above the horizon. The shortest day of the year had come to an end. Nicole looked back at the arch, silent and still.

Nothing.

Not a breeze. A snowflake. A wisp of anything other than the rustle of wings of winter birds settling in for their evening slumber.

"She…she meant here, right? There isn't another archway into the Ghost River Triangle? I mean, it's a big area, there could totally be another stone arch, right?" 

Nothing.

A feeling that--staved off for a few hours, and thought possible forever--was now creeping back into Nicole's stomach.

"She…said she would be here…"

"I'm sorry, Nicole." Wynonna put a hand on Nicole's shoulder and began to guide her away from the arch. Nicole shrugged it off. "C'mon…let's go home."

"Wait."

Suddenly, a flurry of snow encircled them, funneling through the arch into the Ghost River Triangle. In the middle of the archway, a blue light flickered, growing until it formed a humanoid figure. The figure came more into focus, and soon Frau Holle was floating before them, just above Nicole's offering.

"Welcome, travelers. I see you have chosen to embark on the quest I have set before you."

"I told you there would be a quest!"

"However, like the day, my time here is short. We must begin." Once again ignoring Wynonna, Frau Holle closed her eyes and bowed her head.

"Wait. Don't do anything yet. I have something." Wynonna darted back toward Nicole's car. Nicole nervously watched the spirit remain silent, willing Wynonna to hurry. A moment later, Wynonna came crashing back through the trees.

"Okay," she panted. "Here's this, too." In her hand she cradled a hunting knife, with the letters JHH carved into the ivory handle. Wynonna stepped warily up to Frau Holle and placed the knife on the dress, then scurried back to Nicole.

"In case this does work--and don't think I'm saying it will," she murmured, "I don't want to lose Doc on a dumb loophole that we didn't offer anything of his."

Before them, Frau Holle finally tilted her head up again. She opened her eyes, revealing the gray, milky orbs had turned bright orange.

"Her eyes are glowing, her eyes are glowing, I told you she was a demon!" Wynonna gripped Nicole's arm. But Nicole did not hear Wynonna's cries, for the being in front of them had begun to sing.

_"Forage for these items three_  
_Your gateway stands among the trees_

_Bring forth possessions of loved ones gone_  
_Your journey begins at new dawn_

_Treasures of mine await to be found_  
_In your travels you make no sounds_

_From Winter's solstice 'til Yuletide's Eve_  
_Treasures of mine you will thieve_

_Something given, one taken, one saved_  
_Proof of three tasks braved_

_To collect your items you must not delay_  
_From dawn 'til sun's last ray_

_Worlds of fantasy, old, what-could-be_  
_True feelings are what you'll see_

_The day of my feast, your journey ends_  
_This, your chance to make amends_

_If not, then all becomes lost_  
_The ones you love become the cost"_

Frau Holle's voice echoed through the trees longer than anything of their world should have. It played in the minds of the mortals stood before the being as old as time itself.

"Did you _really_ have to rhyme?" 

Frau Holle did not respond.

"So, what do we have to do now?" asked Nicole.

Frau Holle folded her hands in front of her. "I will return soon to guide you on your journey, travelers. Good luck." With one more swirl of snow, she disappeared, taking with her Doc's knife and Waverly's dress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!
> 
> I guess this is definitely a thing now!
> 
> Buckle up, fam, this one's gonna be a wild one.
> 
> //
> 
> Direct any personal inquiries to @TeachEarp_ on the Twitters


	2. My world is changing, I’m rearranging

The next morning found Nicole perched on a desk in the Black Badge office, recalling to an eager Jeremy and a jolly Robin--having stopped by with sustenance on his way to the parks department--her and Wynonna's encounter with Frau Holle.

"You sure that's all of it?" Jeremy asked, scribbling a few more notes on the whiteboard.

"I think so," said Nicole, accepting a festively-decorated travel cup from Robin. She squinted at the board, running through the riddle again. And again. She let out a sign. "Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out if it was some wild fever dream."

"I don't know," Robin mused, leaning against the corner of Jeremy's desk. "An encounter with a Norse goddess near the boundary of the Ghost River Triangle? Seems par for the course."

"Even so, some silvery goddess still showed up and recited a riddle about how we need to get three gifts for her and she can get Waverly and Doc back from the Garden."

"So it's like the Triwizard Tournament!" Jeremy proclaimed.

"Sure, Jeremy." Nicole shook her head bemusedly, taking a sip of coffee. "Wynonna should be here, too…"

"A yule log. You have to find a yule log!" Robin exclaimed.

Nicole and Jeremy snapped their gaze toward Robin.

"What?"

"A yule log!" Robin held his arms out in excited emphasis. "Any winter goddess or spirit would be looking for a yule log as an offering."

Nicole gave Robin an apologetic look. "Robin, I really appreciate you trying to help, but--"

"I'm not traipsing around trying to dig up a festive tree stump."

The new voice redirected everyone's attention toward the door. Leaning against the frame, a canvas bag slung over her shoulder, was Wynonna.

"You told me you'd be here early," Nicole scolded Wynonna.

"This is early," Wynonna sauntered into the room and dropped the bag on the table next to Nicole. She flinched when the bag clanked loudly against the table.

"Aaaaaand I'm going to take that as my cue to leave," said Robin. He leaned down and gave Jeremy a quick peck on the cheek. (Nicole found herself looking away, feeling a sudden tightness in her chest.) "See you tonight?"

"At your family's annual three-days-before-Christmas White Elephant exchange? Wouldn’t miss it!" Jeremy flashed a strained grin at Robin before returning the kiss. "See you tonight."

Robin waved to everyone and left the office without another word, taking with him all the civility remaining in the room.

"You want to explain why you were late?" Nicole rounded on Wynonna. 

"I was picking these up on my way in." Wynonna reached into the bag and dropped a glass jar on the table. "Holiday-scented candle. For Frau Hollaback Girl. It's two items in one!"

Nicole put her head in her hands. "I don't think that's what she meant, Wynonna."

"She didn't give specifics. Do you think I'll be able to find a poinsettia plant this close to Christmas? Or a holly branch that I don't have to steal from someone's Christmas topiary," said Wynonna flippantly. She pulled out a few more candles--colored and white and green, with names like Frosty Forests and Kiss Me Under the Mistletoe and Piney Poinsettia--and them on the table.

"How did _you_ know this is what she was talking about?" Nicole gestured to the pile of candles, one of which was rolling precariously close to the edge of the table.

Wynonna shrugged. "Curtis had a thing for Norse mythology. It's one of the few things I remember him teaching me."

"Wynonna's right, actually." Jeremy quipped. He turned his laptop toward Nicole. "Frau Holle is the goddess of the winter solstice."

Nicole squinted at the screen. "And she's associated with things like evergreen trees, holly, mistletoe…" 

"See! I told you!" Wynonna jeered.

"…and her feast day's on December 25th." Nicole sank back into her chair. "So we have _three_ days to complete a treasure hunt for a Scandinavian goddess."

"Yes," Jeremy confirmed.

"Lucky for you I just saved us a bunch of time, right?" Wynonna nudged Nicole playfully.

"Yes. But there was other stuff in there, too, Wynonna," Nicole whined. "I don't think we just had to bring her the gifts," 

"You mean the whole cryptic 'world's of fantasy, old, yet-to-be'? Probably something mistranslated from the old Norse version," Wynonna began to pack the candles back into her bag. "Let's go."

"Go? Where?" Nicole eyed Wynonna warily

"Back to the boundary. To give the Frau her gifts. And get Waverly and Doc back. And Jeremy, you're coming with us."

"I am?"

"He is?"

"I need a witness. And someone to call the Ghostbusters if we get sucked into another dimension. The female ones, just to be perfectly clear." Wynonna slung her bag back over her shoulder. "Besides, you said it yourself: We're not doing anything important here anyway." 

\-----

"How long is this going to take? I have to go to Robin's family's…thing tonight. "

"Hopefully not too long," Nicole wrapped her scarf over her face as a gust of northern wind rushed past them. "What is Wynonna doing?"

In front of them, Wynonna was carefully staging the candles in front of the stone arch. Once satisfied with their positioning, Wynonna plodded back to Nicole and Jeremy.

"Okay. Now we wait," Wynonna exhaled.

"Now we wait," Nicole affirmed.

The candles sat motionless in the snow. The breeze kicked up loose chunks of snow, coating the tops and sides of the jars.

"You _sure_ it was here?" Jeremy 

"Yes," Nicole and Wynonna replied in unison.

"You think we just…leave the stuff here?"

"No. Frau Holle is definitely one who likes to make an appearance," Nicole replied. She crossed her arms, here eyes locked on the offering beneath the arch.

The minutes passed. The sinking feeling in Nicole's stomach from the night before returned. Wind continued to gust past them, covering the candles almost complete.

"I don't want to say it…" came Wynonna's voice through the wind.

"Don't you dare say it," Nicole replied, feeling heat rise in her cheeks.

"I told you--"

"Or maybe it was you who didn't get the right things and now she's pissed at us and now won't show up!" Nicole spat back at her. "Now what are we going to do?"

"Go back into town and steal a holly wreath and bring it back?" Wynonna offered mockingly.

In the moments their focus wavered from the arch, they failed to notice the snow beginning to cloud and swirl and rise around their feet.

"Are you two noticing the snow falling up from the ground?" Jeremy called to them, also caught in the growing snow funnel. "Because I definitely am and why is it swirling around all three of us?"

Jeremy's cries went unheeded as snow and wind spun faster and faster around them until they were nothing but towers of swirling white.

And then they were gone.

\---

The sun hung low in a clear, blue sky, its beams catching icicles hanging from the pine trees sprinkled sparsely across the low mountain range. 

The landscape was quiet and still, with the exception of a cluster of figures wedged into the snow of the hillside, having appeared there as if out of thin air. Nearby, a celestial being floated a few inches above the snowy ground, watching. Waiting.

"Welcome to your first task, travelers."

"What…the hell." Wynonna wiped snow from her face as she clambered to her feet. "A warning would've been nice."

"You were wasting your time. I wanted to offer you some assistance. I did tell you that you needed to cross over the boundary to go on your travels."

Nicole scrambled to get herself upright, then helped Wynonna haul Jeremy to his feet. "Where are we, even?"

Frau Holle scanned the landscape. "Oh, somewhere that should be unfamiliar to you all."

"Also how is it that I'm not cold," said Wynonna, brushing snow off her jacket. "I know this isn't Purgatory but I know snow when I see it. And inhale it."

"No, you wouldn't," said the Frau wistfully. "You won't truly become part of this world until you realize what it is that you need to retrieve."

"But," Jeremy protested, "we landed in the snow. Won't that show we were here?"

"Are you sure?" Frau Holle probed. She gestured to their landing spot. The trio turned around. Sure enough, the hillside behind them was as pristine as the rest of the hillside. Not a footprint. Not a single snowflake displaced.

"' _In your travels you make no sounds_ '," Nicole recited. "We're invisible until we find her gift."

"Oh, yeah?" Wynonna marched over to a nearby tree. She unsheathed Peace Maker and sliced through the air. And the bough. She reached for it again, but the branch remained attached to the trunk.

"There's your pine bough," Wynonna panted, pointed up at the tree. "Why can't I get it?"

"Are you so sure that is one of my gifts?" Frau Holle clasped her hands behind her back. In response, Wynonna ran off to try to saw off a branch from another. "You amuse me, Heir." She turned to Nicole and Jeremy. "Good luck, my friends. Be swift in your scavenging."

In a blink, Frau Holle disappeared.

"I don't think the item's here, Wynonna ," Nicole called. "You heard the Frau. Our time's running out already. We need to start looking."

"Where?" Wynonna exclaimed as she trudged back to them. "If you didn't notice, we're on the side of a freakin' mountain and the one thing I believed would get us out of here in time to make Happy Hour at Shorty's _isn't the thing we're looking for_!"

Nicole leaned against a barren tree. "Then that must mean it's not here."

"Then _why_ did she drop us off in this place if it's not. Here." Wynonna re-sheathed Peace Maker in a huff.

Nicole shrugged. "We must be near-ish to it. I mean, she wouldn't send us off on a this journey that we couldn't complete…right?"

"A _demon_ would!"

"Hello!" Jeremy interjected. "I'm not stoked about being here, either, and I don't even want a part of this!" He began to pace, his tracks disappearing seconds after leaving them.

"Robin's gonna be so _worried_ , he doesn't know I'm here…And I'm doing Christmas stuff with his family tonight..."

Nicole furrowed her brow. "You don't look that excited about it, though."

"That's because Robin's family pretty much goes all-out. Whole outside of the house is covered in lights. Every inch of the inside is covered in decorations. They've got days of traditions from mid-November to Christmas day. And…he wants me to be a part of it this year." Jeremy ducked his head to hide the furious blush creeping into his cheeks.

Nicole felt herself smile. "Jeremy, that's really sweet."

Jeremy looked up, a sheepish smile on his face. "Yeah, but it's also crazy overwhelming, you know?"

"Have you told him that? He might not even know."

"As touching as this moment is," Wynonna interrupted. "we're still on the side of a mountain and still have no clue as to where or what this magical item is. _And_ we're running out of time." 

"Okay." Nicole pushed herself off the tree. "You're right. I think our best bet would be to get off this mountain and—“

"Hey…do you hear that?" Jeremy held up a hand to silence Nicole.

"I don't want to hear about your groin, Jeremy. It's Christmas," quipped Wynonna.

"No! I'm serious! How can you _not_ hear that?"

They all paused.

And listened.

Through the snow-laden trees came a low humming. The rumbling of crunching snow under dozens of feet. The humming became louder, and became chanting, singing.

Around a ridge came a giant fir tree--at least thirty feet high--carried by a small army of bipedal creatures. They looked human in shape and stature, yes, but were far from resembling any human or demon ever seen by the three onlookers. The characters hauling the tree were various sizes and shapes, their clothing every color and pattern. 

"Who are _they_?"

"And, more importantly," Nicole prompted, watching the horde travel down the mountainside. "Where are they off to?"

"Probably that village," replied Jeremy matter-of-factly. 

Nicole and Wynonna look at each other. Then at Jeremy.

"What village?"

"The one down in the valley." Jeremy pointed over his shoulder. Nicole and Wynonna plodded over to Jeremy and squinted. Sure enough, small buildings, outlined by strings of colorful lights, were nestled at the base of the mountain.

And the caravan was heading right for it.

Wynonna stepped forward, straining to see the bottom of the valley. "That wasn't there a second ago, was it?"

"Who cares?" Nicole set off in the direction of the village. "That's our only lead right now, and I'm going for it."

As they trekked further into the valley, and the village came into view, the unreality of the world in which they found themselves became more and more clear. Buildings defied all laws of physics and structural integrity. As they walked along the streets, weaving in and out of the citizens—oblivious to the visitors’ presence—Every inch was adorned with some combination of strings of multicolored lights and tinsel and pine garlands and bows.

"This whole town goes all-in for Christmas, doesn't it?" Jeremy mused. Every time someone rushed past him--carrying bundles of lights or trays of fudge—he shirked closer to Nicole and Wynonna. 

"What is this place?" Wynonna marveled

"Must be the fantasy world the Frau was talking about," Nicole said, stopping in front of a shop window. Every storefront they pass was dressed with holiday scenes—similar in theme to anything found in a department store window in the Big City, but the toys and holiday animals were oblong, asymmetrical, whimsical.

"And we're supposed to find our magical item…here? How?" Jeremy asked, a nervous edge to his voice.

Nicole let out an exhale "I know we shouldn't do this when we're in some magical world--"

"If you're about to suggest we split up—"

"…but I think we should split up," Nicole grimaced, earning a glare form Wynonna. "It's the only way we'll even have a chance of finding…whatever it is we need to find."

Before Wynonna could retort, a voice called out to them.

"Hey! Get out of the road! Tree comin' through!"

Nicole, Wynonna, and Jeremy looked toward the street, only to be met with facefulls of pine branches.

"Hey! They said to get out of the way!" Hands pulled at the backs of their jackets, yanking them further onto the sidewalk. People passing them shot them confused and disapproving looks. They pressed themselves further against the buildings as they watched the caravan from the mountain wade past them, dragging the tree toward the town center.

“Well, I guess we’re done sneaking around,” said Nicole, picking pine needles out of her hair. 

"What gave you that impression?" Wynonna spat, wiping needles from her mouth. "These people need to calm down. It's just a tree."

Realization dawned on them as soon as the words left Wynonna's mouth.

"The tree!" Nicole exclaimed. "What if it's _that_ tree we have to steal a branch from?"

"Think about it!" exclaimed Jeremy. "Didn't the Frau say we'd be invisible until we were near the item? The Christmas tree just passed us. Boom! Visible to the good people of…whatever this town's called!"

"But we now have a problem," Wynonna pointed out, keeping her voice low. "How are we going to get a branch from said Christmas tree without the entire town seeing us?"

"Wait until later when the festival is over?" Jeremy offered.

"What Christmas festival?"

Again, Jeremy pointed over Wynonna and Nicole's shoulders. They spun around in the direction he indicated. Hung above the street was a banner advertising the town's holiday festival, which, according to the banner and general buzz of excitement rippling through the crowds that rushed past, was beginning in a few moments and would last for several days.

"I don't think we have that kind of time." Nicole checked her watch, finding it stuck at the time they left the Ghost River Triangle. "You heard her. We only have a few hours. We need to figure something else out.”

They followed the flow of the crowd until they reached the town's main square. Already, the tree they saw dragged off the mountain and through the streets was already erected, and people were already decorating it. People hung from wires and pulleys to get to the topmost branches.

Around the square, areas with banners and tables were sectioned off, people busying themselves setting up tents and tables and chairs.

A large bulletin board stood at the mouth of the square, boasting a complete, detailed schedule of the festivities ahead. Eggnog-drinking contests. Opportunities for people to blow their own glass Christmas ornaments. Workshops on tying the perfect bows for presents. A class on wrapping abnormally-shaped packages.

"Look," Nicole pointed at a brightly-colored flier. "The neighborhood lights competition is tonight, right after the tree-lighting ceremony! So all we need to do is lay low and keep ourselves occupied until--"

"There's a wreath-making contest!" Jeremy pointed excitedly at a flyer on the far side of the notice board. Without waiting for a response, he scampered across the square, disappearing into the crowd.

"Okay. I guess Jeremy's down for the count," Wynonna sauntered into the square.

"Let him go. We kinda ruined his evening with Robin." Nicole followed Wynonna, eyeing the 

"We?" exclaimed Wynonna. "I'm not the one who—“

Before they could continue their argument, one of the citizens, dressed in a pastel cardigan and a pearl necklace, came rushing out of one of the tents.

"Ladies, if you're here for the gingerbread house contest, you need to take your places. We're about to begin!" They scurried back into the tent without waiting for a response.

Wynonna and Nicole looked at each other. Nicole raised her shoulders in surrender. Wynonna rolled her eyes, and marched forward into the booth, Nicole close behind her.

\---

"No, the gumdrops go on the peak of the roof, not the trim."

"In what universe?" Nicole argued, placing her gumdrops in a neat row along the roof. "Also, easy on the icing. They only gave us so much."

"I'm sorry I don't want my candy wafers to fall off at the slightest breeze."

They huddled around a pile of gingerbread, stuck hastily together with an obscene amount of icing. Around them, at picnic tables, teams were constructing gingerbread mansions, hotels, replicas of the ancient wonders of the world.

"Well, _I'm_ sorry I'm the only one taking this seriously," Nicole retorted. "At least I'm trying. It's more than I can say about you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Wynonna waved an icing-covered knife at Nicole. "I'm not the one hell-bent and obsessed with following the orders of some goddess who showed up out of _nowhere_."

"And why aren't _you_?" Nicole urged. "You've been digging your heels in this entire time. Don't you want to get them back?"

Wynonna pursed her lips, avoiding Nicole's gaze. She grabbed a pair of tweezers and began to place small chocolate candies along the trim of the windows. "It's _my_ fault they're in there," she murmured.

Nicole almost dropped her piping bag. "What? _That's_ why you've been such a party-pooper?"

Wynonna didn't respond, her focus fixated on alternating red and green candies.

"And you've been trying to sabotage this whole thing, too, haven't you?" Nicole scoffed. "God, how selfish can you be, Wynonna?"

"Excuse me, I'm not the one risking life and limb trying to appease some mystic deity who maybe knows how to get them back." Wynonna sprinkled green sugar crystals along the base of their structure. "I'm just worried I'm going to lose you, too."

"Bakers, you have five minutes remaining! Five minutes!" Another judge--tall and lanky, dressed in mismatched clothes--called to the tent.

A heavy hush of concentration fell over the tent, even falling over Wynonna and Nicole.

Nicole set down her piping bag and turned to face Wynonna. "Look, I _don't_ know if this will work. I'm still only seventy-percent sure at this point. But when Frau Holle made us that offer? I felt something I hadn't felt in months."  
�"And what was that?" Wynonna eyed Nicole warily.

"Hope."

Wynonna rolled her eyes. "You and your unwavering hope."

"Yeah. But where would we be if we didn't have a little bit of hope?" Nicole handed her piping bag to Wynonna. 

"Okay, bakers! Your time is now up! Judges will becoming around to assess your _beautiful_ creations."

Nicole and Wynonna dropped their candies and tools. They rose from their table and took a few steps back, eyeing their creation

"It _kinda_ looks like the Homestead…"

"If you close your eyes," Wynonna added on.

Nicole snorted, which then dissolved into unabashed giggles. Wynonna joined in, clutching Nicole's arm for support, not caring that their joy earned disdainful looks from the other competitors.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier," Nicole said through her last few gasps of laughter. She wiped the tears that leaked down her cheeks.

"Nicole, they're just gumdrops."

The tall, lanky judge clapped their hands to call the crowd’s attention. "Bakers, as always, your artistic gifts shone through into some truly _exquisite_ creations…”

"No…earlier,” Nicole insisted, her voice evening out. “At the boundary. And at the station. Not sorry about the gumdrops."

“Suit yourself,” Wynonna shrugged. “And I’m sorry for being an obstinate asshole.”

“But I never called—“

“Yeah, you did,” Wynonna smirked. “But it’s how I know you love me.”

Across the tent, the judge called the attention of the anxious crowd. “After much deliberation, and by the slightest of margins, we have concluded the winner of this year’s great gingerbread build-off—the split-entry home with a detached bungalow, all in the traditional Victorian style.”

"Told you the gumdrops go around the trim," Wynonna grumbled, earning a playful smack on the arm from Nicole.

"…and their prize is…" The judge bent behind the table at the front of the tent and pulled out a large wooden crate, setting it on the tabletop. On the side, in bright red lettering, read FRAGILE. The judge lifted the box to reveal the prize.

The crowd oo-ed and ah-ed around them as Wynonna and Nicole stared blankly at the item the judge unveiled.

It was a lamp. Of a porcelain leg in fishnet stockings.

"That is possibly the ugliest lamp I have ever seen in my entire life." 

Nicole tilted her head, taking another look at the prize. "You know, I think I'm good with not even being an honorable mention." 

The winner, flustered and emotional, stumbled up to the stage and accepted their prize, hugging the lamp tightly against their body. It was as they were launching into their tearful acceptance speech that Wynonna and Nicole decided to slip away, back toward the town square.

“You know we weren’t going to win anyway. I could tell the judges had been paid off,” Wynonna commented as they exited the tent, back out into the street, which still bustled with folks readying themselves for the evening’s festivities. “Anyways, we need to find Jeremy.”

Nicole scanned the crowd. “He couldn't have gone too far…”

"Nicole! Wynonna!" On cue, Jeremy came running through the crowd toward them. He skidded to a stop in front of Nicole and Wynonna. "I've been looking for you…"

Anything else that came from Jeremy's mouth went unheard. Any reserved attention was immediately taken by the blinking lights emanating around Jeremy. 

"What…is that." Wynonna stifled a laugh, pointing at Jeremy.

"This," Jeremy proudly gestured to his chest, "is a Gertrude original."

Nicole and Wynonna stared, dumfounded, at Jeremy's sweater. Red and green lights blinked an outline of a tinseled Christmas tree plastered onto the front of the sweater. Little gold bells jingled from the cuffs of the sweater

"Who?"

"Gertrude donated the prize--a hand-knitted sweater--to the wreath-making contest," Jeremy beamed. "And _I_ won."

"That's great, Jeremy!" Nicole exclaimed, shielding her eyes from the blinking lights.

Jeremy nodded. "It's something I've always wanted to do. And, surprisingly, the Jetts _don't_ do it. I'm…thinking of suggesting it. Making it Robin and I's little tradition."

Wynonna raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You've…always wanted to make wreaths?"

A loud peal of electronic feedback drowned out any retort Jeremy planned. A voice then radiated through speakers around.

"Friends, it is near time to light the tree! The countdown will begin shortly!"

Nicole and Wynonna looked at each other once more.

_The tree._

_They were running out of time_

_From dawn 'til sun's last ray…_

Jeremy started for the center of the square. "That's what I was trying to tell you two. We gotta go. Hurry!"

They weaved through the crowd, which became more and more dense as they got closer to the tree.

A stage with a podium had been set up in front of the tree, now fully dressed and trimmed. The energy level of the crowd rose as each second passed. They broke into deafening applause when a town dignitary stepped up to the podium and began to speak.

"You ready with Peace Maker?" Nicole whispered.

Wynonna barked out a laugh. "Always ready. It's been a while since it's seen some serious action."

The dignitary began the countdown, just as a rush of bone-chilling wind blasted past Jeremy, Wynonna, and Nicole. It did not bother the rest of the crowd…

"Ten…Nine…”

“Do you two also feel really cold?” Jeremy wrapped his arms around his middle, his teeth chattering.

"Seven…"

"Yeah, why is…oh, _shit._ "

The three of them looked down. The snow on the ground had started to swirl around their feet, the flurry growing taller, moving faster as it enveloped them further.

"Three…"

"No, we can't go yet! We don't have the--"

"Two!"

Anything either of them could have said was drowned out by the rush of snow engulfing the three of them.

"One!"

Stars.

Lights.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Then nothing.

\----

The next thing Nicole felt was a face full of snow as she skidded along the ground. She rolled over, coughing and sputtering. She sat up, trying to gain a sense of where she was. It was dark, cold, and, by the additional sounds of clearing snow out of windpipes, Wynonna and Jeremy were alongside her.

"You two okay?" Nicole called as she brushed snow off herself and hauled herself to her feet.

"Yeah," called Jeremy and Wynonna, their voices muffled by the snow.

Floating in her place near the arch, Frau Holle beamed. "Welcome home, travelers."

Wynonna struggled to get to her feet. "Still, no warning!"

"I believe I did. I told you how long you have. I cannot be unwavering on my time. Your time to search is up when the day is done, or when you find my gift."

"Well, you need to work on your landings," Jeremy retorted. He looked down at his sweater, still blinking, and exhaled a sigh of relief. 

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but we're already oh-for-three. How do you feel about that?" Wynonna challenged.

Frau Holle furrowed her brow. "I do not understand. You returned with a gift from the world of fantasy." 

"But…we didn't come back with anything," said Jeremy.

A serene smile spread over Frau Holle's face. With a flick of her hand, the sweater Jeremy was wearing vanished 

"Hey!" cried Jeremy.

The sweater re-appeared, folded over Frau Holle's arm. "You brought me my first gift, one which was rightfully given."

"But…that's a _sweater_ ," Nicole pointed out.

"That was a Gertrude original," said Jeremy weakly, his shoulders drooping.

"Yes, and a finely-crafted one at that," Frau Holle hummed, stroking the beads and shiny fabric. "You did well, travelers."

"Ooooookay, so we got one?" Wynonna threw up her hands in disbelief. She plodded through the snow toward Frau Holle. "Are we just on a hunt for the universe's ugliest Christmas sweaters?"

Frau Holle chuckled. "Get rest, weary travelers. You have long to go."

With a final flurry, Frau Holle disappeared into the night, once again leaving a bewildered Nicole and Wynonna standing in the snow.

Behind them, Jeremy let out a long, mournful sigh.

"I really liked that sweater."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for being patient with this one, fam.
> 
> Who knew this time of the year would be so chaotic and energy-draining!
> 
> ——
> 
> Thanks to everyone who was cheerleading me through the last few weeks. You know who you are. Thanks for believing in this fic. And me.
> 
> Next part is on its way. I promise. This story has an end.
> 
> For personal inquiries: @TeachEarp_ on the Twitters


	3. Christmas joys all around me, somewhere in my memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Task two.
> 
> In which something stolen must be recovered from the land of old.

Nicole stood in front of the archway, just before dawn. For the first time all winter, there was a break in the clouds. Above the horizon, the sky was a cloudless milky blue, dawn's arrival just as hesitant as Wynonna to get up for the day.

_"Wynonna, it's time to get up,"_

_Nicole stood at the foot of Wynonna's bed, shaking the sleeping form awake._

_"Five more minutes." Wynonna rolled over, shoving her head under a pillow._

_"No. Sunrise is in an hour, and you wanted to get a head start on the task. So get your ass out of bed and let's_ go _." She yanked one of Wynonna's blanket away._

_"If you're not there at sunrise, I'm coming back and sicking Calamity Jane on you."_

_Wynonna pushed herself upright. She glared at Nicole._

_"You wouldn't."_

_Nicole crossed her arms. "She's been so bored lately after ridding this place of mice. You saw what she did to Bunny."_

_Wynonna grabbed a pillow and chucked it at Nicole. Nicole easily side-stepped away, allowing the pillow to bounce against the wall._

_Wynonna slid back down onto the bed. "Okay. You win. I'll meet you there."_

Something illuminated the arch in a soft, yellow glow. Nicole turned around, finding Wynonna's truck rolling up beside her police cruiser. Wynonna climbed out of the truck.

"Any word from Frau Holly Jolly Christmas yet?" she called to Nicole.

Any response Nicole had was squashed by the sharp blaring of her phone ringing from her jacket pocket. She pulled it out.

"It's Jeremy!" She swiped her finger across the screen to answer and put the call on speaker.

"Oh, so you have time to chat with Jeremy, but _I_ can't have another hour of sleep," Wynonna bemoaned.

Nicole shook her head. "What have you got for me, Jeremy?"

"Crafts."

"What?"

"Frau Holle is known to be the spirit of evergreens and holly and _also_ the spirit of _domestic_ crafts."

"What does that mean?"

"Knitting. Weaving. Sewing. That kind of stuff."

"Wow, way to perpetuate gender stereotypes," Wynonna scoffed.

Nicole ignored her, pressing on. "So you're saying the sweater you won in the fantasy world…"

"Fits the bill," Jeremy answered. "Hand-knitted. Gertrude original."

"So we're looking for something woven or sewn or…crafted."

"Yes."

Nicole ran a hand through her hair, looking to Wynonna for help, but finding she had wandered closer to the arch. "But…that could still be anything."

Jeremy sighed. "I wish I could help more. But Robin and I are--"

"More Jett family Christmas outings?"

"Nope. Just me and Robin. Vegan tacos. Got all of the Harry Potter movies lined up." His smile could be heard over the speaker.

At that moment, Wynonna turned around to face Nicole again, her arms crossed, her foot tapping in the show impatiently.

"Gotta go, Jeremy."

"Good luck, you two."

Nicole pocketed her phone, and ambled toward Wynonna, who had moved closer to the archway.

"Jeremy says we need to look for something _crafted_ ," Nicole exhaled.

"Yep."

"Mittens. Pot holders. Hot water bottle covers."

"Perfect."

Neither moved.

"So is anything going to happen, or…"

"Were you listening to her? She said we have to walk through the arch," said Nicole.

"That seems…anticlimactic."

"Do _you_ want to wait until she yanks us to another dimension by our ankles again? Or would you like to go standing on your feet?"

" _Fine._ Fine." Wynonna threw up her hands. "We'll walk through the arch."

Still, neither moved.

"Should we do a countdown or--" Wynonna suggested.

Nicole didn't answer. She stared through the arch, at the moment the first few beams of daylight began reaching for the sky.

A breeze danced past them, sending a shiver down Nicole's spine. She reached for Wynonna's hand, gripping it tightly.

"You don't have to hold my hand, Haught." 

"I know. But I need you to hold mine." 

Wynonna squeezed back tightly.

They stepped through the arch.

In a flash of light and snow, the landscape was deserted.

The wind swept past the archway again, rearranging the snow and covering their tracks, leaving no trace of any humans having been there at all.

* * *

The ground beneath their feet was hard and cold. The sky was dark, darker than the pre-dawn twilight of the wilderness of the Ghost River Triangle.

Brick, colonial-style houses lined either side of the road Wynonna and Nicole found themselves standing in. A few cars--normal-looking cars--sat in front of houses and in driveways. Every house from one end of the street to the other was strung up with Christmas lights.

Except the house looming directly in front of them. No vehicles standing guard. No evidence of movement or life inside the dwelling.

"I see you've landed safely, travelers."

Nicole and Wynonna spun around, finding Frau Holle behind them, in the middle of the street, floating her usual half foot above the ground. Her hood had fallen, resting around her shoulders, revealing her pristine face now darker and her silvery hair now duller, grayer.

Nicole broke the silence. "Where are we this time?"

"If you cared to pay attention, you will know that this is the world of old," Frau answered tiredly. Her voice was lower, rougher than the voice that rang clear through Nicole's head every time she recalled her riddle.

"But…this doesn't look old? When you said 'world of old', I was expecting castles or top hats or at least _one_ horse-drawn carriage."

"My time exists differently than yours. Mortals cannot comprehend time the way I do."

"Yeah, yeah, we know you're all powerful and all-knowing but I still need some context here," Wynonna waved a dismissive hand at her. "The quicker we get a feel for this place, the quicker we can get your gift. And that's what you want, right?"

Frau Holle looked around wistfully. "I believe you mortals would consider it to be nineteen…eighty-seven? The way you keep and count time is truly astounding and inefficient."

Nicole and Wynonna looked up and down the block again. Clunky, angular sedans and trucks lined the street, parked in nearly every driveway or along the curb. Halfway down the block, a front door of a house opened, letting a guest into a neighborhood Christmas party, releasing notes of The Waitresses and Wham! into the night.

"So is our item leg-warmers? Do we need just one or do they need to come as a pair?" Wynonna asked.

Frau Holle didn't appear to hear Wynonna's question. Her head suddenly snapped in the direction of the darkened house, looking past Wynonna and Nicole. "Someone here needs your help."

"Oooooooh no. No, no, no," Wynonna rounded on her. "It was find the three items, get our people back from the Garden. Your riddle said nothing about saving people."

"Be quick, travelers. Your time is waning." She nodded at something behind Nicole and Wynonna. Nicole spun around again to face the darkened house.

"Are you sure this is where we need to be?" she heard Wynonna behind her.

Frau Holle chuckled. "Good luck, travelers. I shall see you when you have retrieved my gift."

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't you go all Houdini on us--"

Nicole didn't need to look to know that the sudden gust of wind and stray snowflakes meant that she and Wynonna were now alone.

She felt Wynonna appear at her side.

"I guess that settles it."

"She also should really work on her exits."

"Also did she seem…older to you? Like, less of a Florence Welch-type and more of an evil witch wanting to lure children into her house made of candy?"

"Yes, am I'm choosing to ignore instead of thinking about how it could mean bad news for us. Deal?"

"Deal."

They stood at the end of the long, paved driveway.

"This might sound really stupid, but--"

"You, a stupid idea?" Wynonna interjected. "When they're so few and far between? Let me hear it."

"…what if we just…go up and knock on the front door?" Nicole finished, brushing off Wynonna's comment.

"Being direct. I like it."

"If we knock and there's nobody there, we leave and try the next house that seems like it to holds some magical item. Got it?"

Nicole turned to Wynonna to get a response, to find Wynonna was already halfway up the winding brick pathway through the yard. Nicole jogged a few steps to match Wynonna's stride just as they approached the small concrete stoop. From there, they could see through the windows the faintest of lights coming from somewhere at the back of the house.

 _Someone_ was home. And trying to appear not to be.

Nicole stepped onto the porch and reached for the brass knocker.

"Hang on!" Wynonna bounded up the stairs after Nicole and grabbed her outstretched arm. "This thing may be booby-trapped."

"What are you, ten?" Nicole chuckled, wrenching her arm from Wynonna's grip.

"I was once. And I have a feeling that whoever's here doesn't want anyone to think they are." Wynonna leaned down close to the door handle. She nodded in confirmation. She beckoned to Nicole. "Listen."

Nicole leaned down next to the door handle. She was barely a foot from the door when she started to hear a low buzzing humming from the doorknob.

"So…what do we do?"

A loud crash, followed by a high-pitched yelp in the distance, answered Nicole.

"Help!" A voice cried, echoing from somewhere behind the house.

Nicole's heart jump-started and she leapt off the porch and started for the side of the house. Wynonna caught up to her when they were both stopped by a locked wooden gate leading to the back yard.

"Nicole, what are you doing?" Wynonna hissed.

"Frau Holle said we have to help someone! That _definitely_ just sounded like someone needs help." Nicole craned her neck, listening again for the source of the commotion.

"How do you know they'll even be able to see us? How do you know if we'll even be able to help?"

Nicole paused, her arm draped over the fence. She looked back at Wynonna. "What if _this_ is the place?" she said, her voice barely a whisper.

Wynonna blinked. "What the hell makes you think that?"

Nicole hopped off the fence. "Because Frau Holle _literally_ dropped us on the doorstep. This _has_ to be the place. And someone here also needs our help. And now they might be in even _more_ trouble because we _aren't_ helping."

"HELP!" the voice cried again, shriller and more frantic. Wynonna's eyes widened.

"That sounds like a kid…" she murmured. She looked at Nicole. "We need to get in there."

"Yeah. Thanks. Now help me up." With Wynonna holding her up, she pulled her self onto the fence once more, reaching over to jiggle the lock.

"Got it!" Nicole exclaimed. She hopped off the fence, letting it swing open to the back yard. She and Wynonna scrambled through and around to the back of the house.

Flood lights illuminated only half the yard, surely concealing a tree house or a tool shed or patio

It illuminated what it needed to. What Nicole and Wynonna needed to see.

Gripping the gutter was a child, their feet dangling at least six feet off the ground. Below them lay a toppled-over ladder.

"You okay, kid?" Wynonna called as they approached.

"Yeah, I'm totally fine," the kid replied unconvincingly. "Just, you know…hanging out."

"Hang on, kid. We'll get you down." Wynonna lunged for the ladder and propped it up against the gutter next to the kid. "Can you scoot over to the ladder?"

"I think so," the kid replied casually. "Just…could you hurry? I think the gutter's cutting into my fingers and I don't think my dads will be okay with me having less than ten fingers."

"I'm gonna hold you up, okay? I'll move with you. I won't let you go," Nicole added on, positioning herself beneath the kid. "Is it okay that I hold your ankles?"

The gutter gave a low, agonized groan.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever," the kid answered, a slight quiver in their voice. "Just get me down!"

"You ready?" Nicole called. She looked over at Wynonna, who gave her a resolute nod. "I'm going to start moving on three. One…two…three…"

Nicole slowly guided the kid, side-stepping toward the ladder. Once their feet were firmly on a rung, she joined Wynonna in holding the ladder steady as the kid slowly descended.

Wynonna and Nicole took a step back as the kid sat against the ladder, their hands on their knees.

"Thanks," the kid exhaled. In the lights of the back porch, the kid's features came to light. Lanky, freckled, gap-toothed, a mane of long, brown hair covered by a knitted cap. An orange, puffy coat zipped up all the way to their chin.

"You okay, kiddo? Does it feel like anything's hurt?"

The kid flexed their gloved hands, turning them over to examine them. "I don't think so…"

"What's your name, kid?" Wynonna asked.

"Skyler. Yours?"

"Sheriff Haught."

"Deputy Earp."

"You're cops, aren't ya?"

"Nope."

"Sure are!"

Skyler raised an eyebrow at them. "You don't look like cops, though."

Nicole and Wynonna glanced down at their civilian clothes. "We're…off-duty," Nicole replied. "But we were out doing some…neighborhood patrols. Things get kinda weird around the holidays, you know? We heard the commotion and wanted to help."

"Well. Thanks, I guess," Skyler pushed off the ladder and grabbed the dangling string of lights, pulling them off the gutter.

"What were you trying to do anyways?" Wynonna's gaze followed the string of lights as they tumbled to the ground.

"What does it _look_ like I was trying to do?" Skyler asked, holding up the lights. "I was trying to put up Christmas lights!"

"By yourself? Seems dangerous." Nicole gestured to the ladder. 

"Yeah," Skyler crossed her arms. "So? I'm the bravest girl in my entire class."

"You could have killed yourself!" cried Wynonna. "Did you see how far you were off the ground?"

"Hey, I was doing _just_ fine until the ladder fell," Skyler retorted. "And my hat slipped down over my face. And…I missed a step. But I was doing fine until then! Look!"

Skyler pointed up to the back side of the house. The windows were already bordered with twinkling white lights. A plastic Santa stood crookedly near the edge of the roof.

"It looks great!" Nicole said, hearing her professional child-reassuring cop voice come out. "You don't have anyone who can help you, though?"

"Nope." Skyler shook her head adamantly. In doing so, the dark blue stocking cap atop her head slipped down over her eyes.

"Looks like that hat's a little big for you," Nicole chuckled.

Skyler let out a frustrated grunt as she yanked the hat back up her forehead. "Yeah. It's my Papa Will's. My Papa Mike made it for him."

"And why doesn't your Papa Will currently have it?"

"Because he's not home. Neither is Papa Mike. Plus it's comfy." Skyler looked up at them with her toothy grin.

"Well, why don't you wait until they come home? This seems like something you should be doing with them, doesn't it? I know lots of families who do these kind of things together."

"Well, that's the thing. I don't know _when_ they're coming back." 

Nicole furrowed her brow, also glancing at Wynonna, who met with a similar expression. "What do you mean?"

Skyler shrugged. "I woke up yesterday, and they were gone."

Nicole and Wynonna looked at one another, their eyes wide in disbelief. Wynonna's demeanor softened, and Nicole could see in her eyes her mind reeling back to a time when Wynonna was abandoned, scrappy, scared...

"So you've been by yourself for two days…" said Wynonna, her voice concerned, yet comforting, one that only surfaced on rare occasions. "Do you need us to call them, or call someone else--

Skyler shook her head. She dropped the strand of lights on the ground and walked over to a set of wide steps leading to the back door of the house. She rested her elbows on her knees, propping her chin in her hands. She let out a heavy sigh. "No. They don't want to hear from me anyway."

"Has this happened before?" Nicole joined Skyler on the steps, as did Wynonna.

"No, but they've been really weird lately." Skyler furrowed her brow. "Papa Mike got a new job that takes him all over the country and Papa Will went with him.

"They even forgot to put Christmas stuff up this year! I guess it was only a matter of time before they forgot me, too." She pointed at the dangling string of lights. "'s why I was trying to put the lights and everything up. When…if they come home…maybe they'll remember it's actually Christmas."

"I get it kid, having deadbeat dads who don't give a shiii…take mushroom about you." Wynonna quickly corrected herself, receiving a warning glare from Nicole. "Do you parents do this…a lot?"

"No, they're usually just gone on business trips and whatnot. They leave me money and stuff, but…" Skyler sat up straight, putting her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest. "I can take care of myself perfectly fine, thank you very much."

"I'm…still a bit worried that you're here by yourself," Nicole redirected.

"Why do you care?"

"We're cops, remember?" Wynonna playfully nudged Skyler, earning a smile from her.

"What we're trying to say…, " Nicole continued. "Is there anything else we can help you with? You don't want another ladder incident, do you?" 

"Guess not," Skyler twisted up her mouth in thought. "You know…I'd _really_ like to put up the Christmas village. But all the boxes and junk are up in the attic. And I _hate_ the attic." She looked expectantly at Wynonna and Nicole.

"Or are you too busy and have to go off and do more grown-up things?"

Nicole looked over the top of Skyler's head at Wynonna, just as Wynonna looked her direction. Their eyes met.

The attic.

"I think we can make some time for that."

The words were barely out of Nicole's mouth before Skyler scrambled up off the stairs and flung the back door open, leaving Nicole and Wynonna alone on the porch.

When they didn't immediately follow her, Skyler poked her head out the door. "Well, come on! Make yourselves useful!" 

Skyler led them into the house through the back door. They wandered through the kitchen. Pizza boxes sat on the kitchen counters, next to empty soda bottles and ice cream containers.

Skyler tossed her coat onto the bannister and scampered up the stairs.

As they rounded the corner and started up the stairs after her, Nicole caught a glimpse of the front door. Tied around the brass knob were a few wires, connected to a few batteries, a box with "My First Circuitry Set" printed in bright colors laying on the floor.

"Hey," she nudged Wynonna. "You were right. She did wire it."

"Of course I was right," Wynonna scoffed. "Kid's got a future in electrical engineering."

"Or being a criminal mastermind," Nicole mused.

"You two comin' or what?" Skyler called, already at the top of the stairs.

She led them to the end of the upstairs hallway. She pointed to a frayed braided rope hanging from the ceiling.

"That's the attic. Everything should be up there."

Wynonna reached for the rope and pulled it down, opening a hatch, which revealed a folded wooden ladder. Gravity took over and the ladder slid down to the floor, landing with a dusty thud. A rush of cold, damp air floated down with the ladder.

Skyler looked at Nicole and Wynonna. "You aren't scared of attics, are you?" 

"As long as there are no flowers up there."

Skyler cocked her head to the side.

Wynonna nodded, patting her on the shoulder. "Keep that innocence, kid." She then scaled the ladder, followed closely by Nicole.

It was a standard attic, as far as attics went. Dark. A little damp. Filled with treasures and relics not suited for daily life. Secrets needed to be ignored instead of properly addressed.

A single lightbulb dangled over their heads at the mouth of the attic. Wynonna pulled the chain and clicked on the light, provided barely enough illumination to see the far corners of the space.

"When you made the deal with Frau Holle, did you imagine that would involve going through a stranger's attic?" Wynonna asked, her voice hollow and echoing through the rafters.

Nicole let out a long exhale. "Not in the slightest. But there's nothing we can do about it now." She wandered down the aisle that divided the attic into two piles of artifacts. She ran her fingers over the dusty frame of an oil painting.

Wynonna followed, rummaging through piles on the other side of the room. "Are you sure that this task…if we're following the riddle…this is the one where we have to bring her something _taken_? Do you think it's the thing we have to save?"

"If the worlds go in order, so do the tasks," Nicole sighed, brushing dust off a hatbox. "What if it's something that's already stolen?" Nicole offered, opening an wooden jewelry box atop a faded vanity.

"How in the hell would we know that?" Wynonna argued. "For all we know, this could be the stolen item." She held up a pillow with the words " _Love Thy Neighbor_ " hastily stitched onto it.

"Because Frau Holle would appear and then we'd be back in Purgatory," Nicole pointed out, feeling frustration bubble in her chest. "And it'll all be useless if we run out of time nit-picking over what we think the item it. We better just start looking."

Boxes. Wooden chests. Sepia and black and white photographs. An old model train set. Crates full of records. Nicole and Wynonna worked back-to-back on either side of the attic. Finding the balance between meticulous searching and urgent scouring was…tricky.

"Have you found anything yet?" Nicole called, having finished rifling through her third box of school primers.

"No." Wynonna's voice sounded far away, clear on the other side of the attic.

"Are you even looking?"

"Of course I am," Wynonna snapped. "I mean, what attic _doesn't_ have at least one old wedding dress? Or a wooden trunk of old hats and jewelry? What kind of attic is this?"

"Because that would be too easy," said Nicole matter-of-factly. "And the Frau doesn't like to make things easy for us, does she?"

"I still don't trust her," Wynonna insisted.

"I know."

"And the longer we're here, the weirder I feel about all of this," Wynonna continued, briefly muffled by the clanging of the silver dishes she uncovered. "How do we know she isn't wreaking havoc on Purgatory while we're here and not there to protect everyone?"

Nicole's stomach sank. "I…didn't think about that."

" _And_ I don't like that we're stealing from a _kid_."

Nicole pulled open a drawer from a tall, dark-wooded chest. "I don't, either. Whatever it is…Skyler might not even know it's up here." She let out a sigh. "But…it's not like we're _killing_ anyone here, right? Did you honestly think this whole thing would be without sacrifice?"

Footsteps and creaks of the wooden floorboard signaled Wynonna's emergence into the clearing. Nicole paused her search, and turned to face her.

Wynonna stood in the aisle between her section and Nicole's, her arms crossed defiantly over her chest. "No, we're not killing anyone, or anything. But willingly taking something from a ten-year-old who's alone and just wants her family back seems like a pretty terrible way to do all of this. 

"I thought sacrifice meant giving up something material," she said, her voice low. "Didn't think you would sacrifice you whole moral code, Sheriff." Wynonna disappeared behind her pile again.

Nicole clenched her jaw as a flush of heat surged through her chest. She returned to her search, roughly shoving old bolts of fabric out of her way. "Well _maybe_ we would be somewhere different if you _had_ been trying…Maybe we'd have them back now…" she muttered.

"Hey!" Wynonna exclaimed. "I told you I'm sorry. That I already feel guilty because I _let_ them go in. But you're right. We haven't been trying. But neither have you. You just _gave_ up." 

Nicole stopped, her hands hovering over the knobs of another drawer. A flash of heat crept up the back of her neck. She turned around. "What else was I supposed to _do_ , Wynonna? I'm sorry I don't have a magical sword that can just solve all of my problems. I'm the _sheriff_. I have a city that needs me."

"Lucky you," Wynonna scoffed. A loud _THUD_ caused Nicole to turn around. She found Wynonna back in the clearing, a large box in front of her, surrounded by a cloud of dust. "You get to go to work and distract yourself and avoid all of this because the organization I was hired to work for disappeared off the face of the planet with _no_ explanation, so I get to sit with Jeremy and twiddle my thumbs and replay the moment they were taken."

She shoved the cardboard box across the floor with her foot.

"Found the Christmas village."

"Great" Nicole responded, her tone as icy as the attic air. "We still need to find Frau Holle's gift."

"Deputy Earp? Sheriff Haught? Did you find it?" Skyler's muffled voice came through the hatch to the attic.

"Yeah. We'll be right down!" Wynonna called down to Skyler, not taking her eyes off of Nicole. She dropped another box atop the one she found. "You can keep looking. _I'm_ helping Skyler."

Nicole walked over to the pile and haughtily snatched the one off the top. "Fine."

The porcelain Christmas village filled three large cardboard boxes. Nicole and Wynonna wrestled them down the ladder and lugged them into the living room, where Skyler was waiting near a large empty table covered in a white table cloth, next a bare, poor-looking Christmas tree.

"It's about time!" Skyler bounded over to them and grabbed a box from Nicole. She plopped onto the floor and tore open the box, pulling out small, taped-up foam blocks and setting them on the floor.

Wynonna set her box down and began to unpack it alongside Skyler. Skyler looked back at Nicole, who chose to remain standing in the doorway to the living room.

"Aren't you going to help us?"

"You know, Skyler, why don't I go and finish putting up those Christmas lights around the house?" Nicole offered, keeping as much disdain out of her voice as possible. "I have a bit more experience with a ladder."

"That might not be a bad idea," Wynonna chimed in, eyeing Nicole.

"Just don't come crying to us when you fall off the roof," Skyler said, already back to digging through the carboard boxes. Wynonna barely stifled a laugh behind Skyler.

* * *

Nicole found the bin of Christmas lights near the back porch, near where they found Skyler. She grabbed the ladder and a clump of lights and got to work.

Slowly, meticulously, Nicole worked her way around the house, clipping hooks to the gutter, hammering nails into the siding, threading light strands. Despite the cold, the heat in her cheeks and neck never fully subsided as she tried to expel her anger at the nails she hammered into the trim of the house.

She tried to work quickly, knowing every passing second meant time lost looking for their secret item, seconds she couldn't get back…

What if they missed it by a second?

What if they lose Waverly and Doc forever…because they were a second too late?

On the other hand…Every so often she caught a glimpses into the living room through the front windows. Wynonna said something and suddenly Skyler was doubled-over laughing. Her stomach clenched.

Every second here was a second she didn't have to spend with Wynonna.

Hours--or maybe just a few minutes--passed before Nicole finally descended the ladder, having completed her loop of the house.

Wynonna was standing on the back porch, watching her.

"How's it going there, Sheriff?"

Instead of answering her, Nicole connected the last two strands, outlining the front gutter and trim in shiny, colored lights.

Nicole shoved her hands in her pockets, admiring her work. 

"Not bad."

"I've lit up a few houses in my time."

"I _know_ you've got game, Haught. You don't need to remind me."

Nicole let herself smile a bit. She looked at the ground, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"How are things going inside?" Nicole kept her tone light, knowing anything indicating otherwise could trigger another verbal brawl between herself and Wynonna. And that was the last thing she wanted Skyler to see.

"You should come see for yourself."

Nicole followed Wynonna back into the house. Walking through the door even felt different. The house was warmer. The air smelled faintly of pine and cinnamon. All the lights were on, giving everything a soft, dream-like glow.

They were about to enter the living room when Skyler came skidding through the entryway, holding her hands up. "Wait, Sheriff Haught needs to close her eyes! It's not ready yet!"

Wynonna eyed Nicole pointedly. Nicole rolled her eyes playfully and placed a hand over her eyes.

"Okay…open your eyes!"

The living room looks like a scene from a movie. Everything glittered gold and silver. Ribbons of deep warm green and reds were strung along the entire perimeter of the room. Scratchy big band jazz Christmas tunes wafted from the record player.

The scraggly tree had been seemingly replaced with something out of a Sears Roebuck catalogue, with shiny, multi-colored baubles covering every inch of the tree that wasn't wrapped in sparkly white lights. A glittery star topped the tree.

"It looks amazing in here."

"Yeah! And look what Wynonna helped me do," Skyler crouched down beside the tree, reaching for something behind it. Suddenly, a small train emerged from underneath the tree, following a track that wove under the table holding the illuminated village.

Nicole glanced over at Wynonna, who was leaning against the doorframe, looking at Skyler with pride.

Wynonna blinked and looked at Nicole, flustered, the pride vanishing from her face. She shrugged. "Curtis also had a thing for model trains. I may have helped him once or twice."

Nicole approached the table and crouched down to get a closer look.

The porcelain Christmas village stood on a blanket of puffy cotton sheets. An entire city, laid out with precision and care. A post office, school house, concert hall, town square, all placed meticulously. Small figures wrapped in wintry clothes dotted the landscape, frozen in place while running errands, going about their jobs, partaking in holiday merriment.

A loud timer buzzed from the kitchen.

"Cookies are done! I'll be right back!" Skyler dashed into the kitchen, once again leaving Wynonna and Nicole alone.

Nicole glanced around the room as long as she could to avoid even looking at Wynonna. Eventually, though, she meandered toward her She leaned against the other side of the doorframe.

"Looks good in here. It really does."

"Thanks. Skyler did most of it," said Wynonna nonchalantly, not meeting Nicole's gaze. "I just helped when she couldn't reach things."

"It finally feels like Christmas!" Skyler exclaimed as she burst back into the room. She shoved a tray of gingerbread cookies between them. Nicole and Wynonna shared an amused look before each taking one off the top of the pile.

"You make these, Skyler?" Nicole asked, her mouth full of cookie.

"Yeah!" Skyler bounced over to the couch, sliding the tray onto the side table. She plopped onto the couch, curling her legs under her.

Nicole wandered over to the front window, seeing her handiwork visible from the living room. "Not to be outdone, but I think you should see what I've done with the outside of your house. See if you approve of my work. How's _that_ sound Skyler?" 

Someone snorted a giggle behind her.

"Skyler?"

Nicole turned around. Skyler was slumped against the arm of the couch, sound asleep.

"That's a pretty happy kid," said Nicole quietly. "I'm not saying we saved her life or anything--"

"Who's to say we didn't?"

"I was going to say…you were the one who made that happen. You might've saved her Christmas."

Skyler let out a soft snore, almost as if she were agreeing.

Wynonna crept toward the couch. She grabbed the fleece blanket folded on top of the ouch and draped it over the sleeping figure. She tucked the blanket around Skyler, straightening her askew hat, brushing away a few flyaway strands of hair.

"You see Alice, don't you?"

Wynonna shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "How could I not?"

Before either could continue, bright lights shone through the front window, illuminating Skyler's face.

"Shit. Someone's here! We gotta go!"

They sprinted for the back of the house, out the back door. They make it around the side of the house just as they heard an engine cut and car doors creak open.

Nicole squinted at the driveway, watching as two tall figures climbed out of the car.

"Skyler? Skyler!" Two deep voices called to the house.

A flood of light carpeted the front walkway. "Papa Mike? Papa Will?" a sleepy voice called out into the night.

Seconds later, Skyler burst out of the house and down the walkway, nearly knocking over one of the figures as she leaped onto him. The figure caught the girl, wrapping her in his arms and lifting her off the ground. The other figure--her other dad--ran over to join his family, tightly encircling his arms around them.

The other man then gathered Skyler in his arms and twirled her around, peals of laughter ringing through the night.

Nicole looked over her shoulder, finding Wynonna still focused on the reunion before them. The street lights caught the tears brimming in her eyes.

Nicole draped an arm across Wynonna's shoulders. "We should go."

Wynonna sniffled, wiping her nose, and nodded. They skirted along the fence, as close as possible, staying out of any spots of light. As they crept toward the street, the small family retreated back into their home, oblivious to anything around them. When the front door finally closed with the family inside the house, Nicole and Wynonna stepped back into the driveway.

Through the front windows they watched Skyler animatedly narrate the newly-decorated living room, occasionally interrupted with emphatic apologies from both fathers.

"Still need to get Frau Holle's gift," Wynonna fought to keep her voice steady. She bruskly rubbed at her eyes. "Think we can just hang out here until they all go to sleep and sneak back in?"

Nicole stooped down to pick up something from the driveway. She showed it to Wynonna. "I don't think we need to do that…"

Wynonna snagged the blue knit hat from Nicole and lunged for the front door. "Wait, Skyler, you dropped your--" She stopped short when Nicole grabbed her by the arm.

"What are you doing? We need to give it back to her," Wynonna yanked her hand from Nicole's grip.

Nicole shook her head, looking past Wynonna, toward the house. "I don't think she's going to miss it. I don't think she needs it anymore." 

Nicole nodded her head toward the house, and Wynonna turned around. It might've been their imagination, or maybe there was an open window they didn't notice, but they heard the dads talk of " _quitting jobs_ " and " _spending more time at home_ " and " _Hey, we should stay in our pajamas all day tomorrow and watch Christmas movies and bake cookies_ ". Skyler just beamed up at them.

"She has everything she wants."

The calm, peaceful familial scene before them was enchanting enough they hardly noticed the flurry of snowflakes rising around their feet 

* * *

"I'm sorry."

_Drink._

_Pass._

"I'm sorry, too."

_Drink._

_Pass._

"I know it's not your fault. Not all of it. I think Waverly knew she was going in." 

_Drink._

_Pass._

"I do, too."

_Drink._

_Pass._

"But why?"

_Drink._

_Pass._

Wynonna shrugged, staring into the dancing flames of the bonfire in front of her. Her deck chair creaked with even the slightest movement. "Something only a half-angel could do. Guess she'll have to tell us all about it when we get her out."

_Drink._

_Pass._

"You're finally convinced this is going to work?"

_Drink._

Wynonna remained silent, letting the crackling fire flame up, orange and yellow sparks floating into the frozen air.

Nicole set the empty bottle in the snow, wrapping the wool blanket tighter around her as the temperature continued to drop.

"Tomorrow's it," she breathed. "We might even…get them back by Christmas. Can you believe it?" Something in her chest felt suddenly lighter, lighter than it had in months. Hope tugged at the corners of her mouth.

But when Wynonna didn't respond, she let out a long sigh. "Why don't you want this to work?"

"Don't be dumb, of _course_ I want it to work."

"Then why have you been an especially stubborn asshole about all of this?"

Wynonna pursed her lips. "Because I'm worried about you. I don't want you to be disappointed if…if this doesn't work. Because I don't know if I can take seeing my best friend's heart shatter any more than it already has."

"So why not still try anyways?" said Nicole quietly.

Wynonna chuckled. "You just _don't_ stop, Haught. No matter what it takes. You have to save the day. Because that's what you do. And it's how I know you're going to save them."

"How _I'm_ going to save them? Aren't you supposed to be the hero?"

Wynonna rose from her creaky deck chair. She kicked a mound of snow onto the fire.

"Not this time."

Nicole sat forward in her deck chair. "What? What are you talking about?"

"No. I'm staying here." Wynonna started back toward the Homestead.

Nicole leapt out of her chair, leaping over the embers of the fire. She caught up to Wynonna just as she reached the back door. "Wynonna, I'm not letting you bail on me when we're _this_ close--"

"I'm _not_ bailing on you," Wynonna replied, her voice steady. "I think I learned what I needed to learn from all of this. This whole thing was never for me to begin with." 

"Wynonna…I can't do this without you," Nicole pleaded. "What if I need Peace Maker, what if--"

Wynonna shook her head. "No, Nicole. I think this last one's just for you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness. Been a while, hasn't it?
> 
> It's been so long, other holidays have come to pass.
> 
> This project didn't pan out the way I wanted it to. But that's okay. There's still a story here. And I still want to tell it.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's cheerleaded this fic from the start. You know who you are.
> 
> \---
> 
> Personal inquiries: @TeachEarp_ on the Twitters


	4. An end to stories and legends of old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Through the dark, we push towards...more than love or friendship true, this destiny will bring on anew..._
> 
> Alone, Nicole searches for the final gift...and discovers something about their future.  
> 
> 
> _All of their futures_

_"I think this one's just for you."_

Wynonna's words ran through Nicole's head the entire night, leaving her sleep-deprived.

She'd adjust her pillow, kick the sheets off, roll over, her arm reaching for--

Cold sheets on an empty side of the bed.

If they succeeded, those sheets would be warm again.

The world would be warm again.

Nicole hauled herself out of bed and drove out to the arch when the sky was still dark.

The archway framed the forest behind it. Unassuming. Unknowing.

She punched open the sunglasses holder on the ceiling of the car. It folded open with ease, it's contents rattling as it descended. Nicole reached up and pulled out the onyx ring. It was heavy and dull, all color gone with the disappearance of its last owner.

_Bringing them back…could mean even a little light retuning to the dark things._

_She didn't even get to say 'yes'._

A glimpse of the coming dawn hit one of the corners of the black stone, temporarily reviving it, and she placed the ring back in the holder.

Her hand returned to her lap when a dark figure approached the driver side of the car. She rolled down the window.

"Couldn't sleep, either?"

Nicole shook her head.

She got out of the cruiser, joining Wynonna in her staring contest with the arch.

"So. This is it."

"This is it."

Somewhere in the distance, a coyote let out a long, mournful howl.

Nicole started for the arch. She stopped when she didn't hear a pair of footsteps echoing her. She turned. Wynonna was still leaning against the truck, her arms crossed, her face unmoving.

"You're really not coming."

Wynonna pushed herself off the truck, trudging toward Nicole.

"One of us should stay. In case…" Wynonna looked at the ground, hitting her toe aimlessly at a compact patch of snow.

Nicole gave a short nod in understanding.

_In case I don't make it back. Someone needs to keep on._

Still, Wynonna was never one to pass up an opportunity to be the hero.

"But what if I can't--"

"You can," Wynonna assured her, placing her hands on Nicole's shoulders. "I _know_ you can. You're the only person I trust to put an end to all of this. Now go get whatever the hell the Frau needs us to bring back. My money's on a decorative doily."

She reached her arms around Nicole, squeezing her tight. "So we can bring our girl and our cowboy back. They're waiting for us."

Nicole turned to face the arch, setting her shoulders. She let out a long breath. It rose in thick clouds, up toward the pine boughs.

You can end this all. Bring them home.

She stepped forward, suddenly engulfed in the now-familiar cloud of snowflakes.

And everything went dark.

* * *

When Nicole opened her eyes, she was standing outside the Homestead. Just after dawn, as if she had been transported from the arch back to the warmth and comfort of--

But something was very wrong.

Something felt off. Like the version of Purgatory she found herself in when the Iron Witch made the deal with--

Nicole swallowed.

Everything was dark.

Quiet.

Abandoned.

No jeep. No truck. No smoke billowing from the chimney. The shutters hung on rusted hinges. Mounds of snow gone untouched.

"What…what happened?"

"Welcome, traveler, to the world of what-could-be."

Nicole jumped at the voice, spinning around to find its source, her hands flinching for a gun that wasn't at her hip.

It was unlike any she heard before. While it echoed through her bones, it was still strained, grainy.

Frau Holle's once tall stature was shrunken, arthritic, puckered. Her silvery hair was gray and frizzy. Her pristine hands wrinkled and knobby. Her robes were tattered around the edges, and a frayed shawl hung around her shoulders. They flowed around her still, but a strong gust could've easily dissolved them--and her--away.

"What’s happening to you?" Nicole whispered.

Frau Holle gave Nicole a bemused smile, her teeth--those she had left--crooked and rotten. "My time on this plane wans, traveler. Only your final gift will give me the strength I need to go on. And to bring back the ones you have lost."

"But…" Nicole faced the house again. "Why am I _here_? What… _happened_?

Frau Holle appeared at Nicole's side. "This world…is for you to see. To watch. To understand. I will not retrieve you until you have seen all that you need." 

Nicole's stomach sank. "And what exactly is _all_ that I need to see?" 

Frau Holle pointed a shaking, gnarled hand at the house. 

"Okay, then." 

Nicole slowly walked toward the house, across the frozen, untouched ground the frozen gravel. She stepped onto the porch, the boards unusually quiet. She reached for the door handle, but was stopped by a glaring sign posted on the front door. 

_By strict order of the Purgatory Sheriff Department:_

_TRESPASSING IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED_

_Violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law._

Nicole's blood ran cold as she recognized her signature at the bottom of the warning sign. The date was five years into the future. However, the sign already looked much older than that. Ink splotched from rain. Edges torn from the ever-present wind. 

Even so, there was no padlock or anything resembling a locking mechanism or even a hastily tied piece of rope to keep unwanted visitors out. Nicole turned the rusty handle and stepped inside. 

Though the outside looked abandoned, whoever was involved in the final stand at the Homestead wasn't willing to go quietly. 

She passed over shards of broken glass, splintered pieces of chairs with edges worn and rotted over time--one last fight to protect the Homestead? Or ruffians tarnishing the property? Townspeople getting their final say on how they felt about the Earp family? 

She couldn't imagine Waverly, Doc, Wynonna, even herself, letting this place go easily. 

As she maneuvered through the house, she wanted to see if one place went untouched, remained a sanctuary. 

She did not make a sound as she climbed the stairs. 

The bedroom looked the same as the day Frau Holle appeared. All color depleted in layers of dust and grime and cobwebs. The curtains yellowed, but still drawn over the windows. Linen frayed and thinned by moths. Lavender and vanilla gave way to dust and mildew. A shrine. A vault. 

The closet door was still ajar. 

Even with Nicole standing in the room, she could not bring life into the room. It was dead. Gone. No more. 

It had been that way for a long, long time. 

_What kind of hell hole did Frau Holle take me to?_

_Where is everyone?_

Nicole frantically looked around the room, her heart beginning to pound, heat rising up the back of her neck, her mind racing with every possible explanation of _why did it look like this place--her_ home _\--had been abandoned for the last decade?_

"Okay, you have thirty seconds to tell me what the _hell_ happened here?" Nicole demanded as she burst out of the Homestead and marched back toward Frau Holle. " _Where_ is everyone?" 

"Isn't it obvious?" the Frau answered callously. "No cars. No signs of life. The very land gone untouched for _twenty_ years…" 

"Why? _Why_ has it gone untouched?" Nicole rounded on her. 

The Frau raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I thought you intelligent, traveler. Is it really that difficult to discern--" 

"I asked a question," said Nicole through gritted teeth. "I just need an answer. Where. Is. My. _Family_." 

Frau Holle floated over to the side of the house, wistfully peering through one of the broken windows. "I can see all time and eternity, traveler. Based on your actions and choices, and in an attempt to… _motivate_ you, I brought you here." She held out her thin, bony arms, gesturing to the abandoned property. 

"See, this is the moment in time where things appeared their bleakest. Where things were just on the brink of being forgotten completely. The human constitution is quite fragile. I'm amazed that you, as a species, always managed to survive such atrocity and tragedy." 

The Frau's remarks sent a sour sensation into Nicole's stomach. 

"What are you not telling me?" Nicole said, her voice low. "They're not…no, they can't be. Not all of them…" 

"How can you be so sure, traveler?" 

"Then where are they?" 

"Again, I do not this it wise at this time to--" 

" _Where are they."_ Nicole seethed through gritted teeth. 

"It is not in the best interest of completing the quest, traveler." 

" _Screw_ the quest!" Nicole's roar reverberated around the empty Homestead. "They're not _here_ , tell me where they are!" 

"Or, what?" Frau taunted lightly, her voice as icy as the ground beneath Nicole's boots. "You have no weapon, and I don't see what doing any sort of harm to me will get you." 

"Or I won't get you your gift," Nicole seethed, her fists clenched at her side. 

Frau Holle fumed, and suddenly she towered over Nicole, her voice booming, loud enough to knock Nicole backward, sending her tumbling onto the front steps. "IF YOU DO NOT FIND MY TREASURE, TRAVELER, THEN THIS FUTURE WILL BE ALL BUT GUARANTEED. YOU, YOUR LOVED ONES, ALL GONE FROM THIS EARTH." 

Nicole quickly was back on her feet. She let out a furious cry and lunged for Frau Holle. Only, she passed through the celestial figure and nearly crashed into the front gate. Nicole spun around, ready for another go. 

Nicole set her jaw. "I don't believe you." 

Frau Holle's eyes narrowed to slits, and Nicole saw a flash of yellow behind them. 

"Have it your way," she growled. "Then I shall see you at the end of your journey, traveler." She waved a hand over Nicole and everything went black. 

* * *

A familiar smell filled her nostrils. Warm, but old. Musty. Old paper. Government-issued cleaning solution. The faintest whiff of stale bureaucracy. 

She cracked open an eye, finding herself standing in an empty hallway of the Purgatory Municipal Building. 

Directly in front of the doors to the Sheriff Department. 

The doors--still with their frosted glass and gold lettering--were open, the lights inside were on. 

That was a good sign, at least. 

The office looked the same. But something _felt_ different. It felt darker, colder. The wood paneling on the desks and around the bullpen had aged, every surface a little duller. And messier. Papers piled haphazardly on every desk. 

_This place really went to shit._

_Who the hell is in charge here?_

Someone breezed past her, striding confidently up to the front desk. 

A someone with long, wavy brown hair. 

Nicole's heart lifted. 

The boots. The leather jacket. The hair. 

The witch lied. 

Nicole quickly followed in the figure's stead, reaching them just as they approached the front desk of the sheriff department. "Oh, Wynonna, thank _God_ you here--" 

"Hello? Is anyone here?" 

Nicole froze, her arm outstretched to grab Wynonna by the shoulder. 

Because the voice from the figure wasn't Wynonna's. 

Not quite. 

It sounded…younger. A little less rough. Less whiskey-soaked. 

An unrecognizable officer strolled out from the back office. “Who are you lookin’ for, darlin’?” 

The woman leaned against the counter. “I was told by someone down at the gas station to come here if I wanted to know about Wynonna Earp.” 

Nicole's jaw dropped. 

“Whew," the officer let out a low whistle. "Haven’t heard that name in a while. What kind of business you have lookin’ for Wynonna Earp?” 

“My name's Alice Gibson. Earp, actually. Wynonna's my mom.” 

And things began to click. 

The slight, but muscular frame. The sauntering gait. That damn hair. She was even sporting a leather jacket. 

Alice Michelle Earp was the spitting-image of her mother. 

The desk attendant squinted their eyes at Alice. "Oh yeah…guess you do look a bit like her. Thought she had a kid…Not much of a surprise." 

Nicole felt her fists clench. 

"So…can you help me?" 

The person at the desk opened the gate to the bullpen. “Go on back to the sheriff's office. The person who’ll answer your questions is in there.” 

Nicole slipped inside the bullpen and followed Alice. 

Not that she needed to follow her. 

She knew where she was going. 

Alice knocked on the closed door. 

“Come in.” 

Alice slowly opened the door and stepped inside. Nicole slipped in behind her. 

The office looked the same. Desk in the same spot. File cabinet in the corner. 

But, still, it was empty. 

Shockingly so. 

No pictures on the walls, or on the desk. 

No couch. 

And at the desk--that hadn't changed since she sat in front of Nedley on her first day in Purgatory-- _she_ sat. Uniform unchanged in twenty years. Gray streaks lined her hair, pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Creases around her eyes and mouth. She scratched away at whatever file she had in front of her, not looking up at the visitor entering her office. 

"Can I help you?" Nicole barely recognized her own voice. Twenty years had roughened her voice, strained it. 

She sounded… _sad_. 

Indifferent. 

Defeated. 

Just like at the Homestead, questions bubbled up in her mind, a new one beginning before the previous ended. 

She half-hoped that the Frau's gift would be somewhere in here, that she would be visible and would be able to demand of herself the same questions as Alice. 

_Where is my family?_

But neither Alice nor her older self suddenly noticed a stranger suddenly appear in the corner of the office. 

So she watched. And listened. 

Just like Frau Holle wanted. 

Alice swallowed, her confident façade faltering a moment before she took a deep breath and sat down in the chair front of the desk. Alice looked down at the nameplate perched on the edge of the desk, dull and scratched with age. 

"You're Nicole Haught--" 

"Unfortunately," the sheriff grumbled. 

Alice let out a nervous laugh. She looked down at her lap, where her fingers were twisted into knots. "I was told you could help me find someone." 

"Who are you looking for?" the sheriff asked, her voice almost robotic. An automatic response for a seemingly routine case. 

"Wynonna Earp." 

Sheriff Haught's head shot up. She narrowed her dulled, dark-circled eyes at Alice. 

"What did you say?" 

Alice swallowed hard, and took a deep breath. "I'm looking for Wynonna Earp. I'm her daughter, Alice." 

Something in Nicole's chest swelled, knowing that she might get to witness the reunion between mother and daughter after _she_ orchestrated her escape so long ago. 

Sheriff Haught studied Alice a moment more, clenching and relaxing her jaw. She then looked down and returned to her paperwork, replying, as casually as if Alice was asking about a wrongly-issued parking ticket "She's gone. Dead. Twenty years now." 

Time stopped. Everything in the office froze. The feeling Nicole had in her chest burst like a snapped rubber band. The band then wrapped itself around Nicole's chest, squeezing the breath from her lungs. 

_Wynonna's…gone?_

"She…is?" Alice's voice--suddenly meek, childlike--barely crossed the desk. "Wh…what happened?" 

"Finally drank herself to death when her sis--" Sheriff Haught paused, catching herself on the brink of revealing too much--or opening a wound scarred over and longing to be forgotten. She chased away the bubbling grief with a clearing of her throat. "Terrible tragedy." 

Alice's chin quivered. "Why didn't anyone tell us? Weren't you supposed to be, like, her _best friend_? You helped get me to my aunt Gus. What about Waver--" 

Sheriff Haught's head shot up again, something dark flashing behind her eyes. "I don't have to tell you _anything_ about the Earps," she snapped, a hard edge to her voice that Nicole had never heard before. "That name's history. Gone. Just like everything else in this town." 

The sheriff considered Alice for a long moment. Then, in a low voice, she said, "Get out." 

"Sorry?" 

"I said, get _out_!" Sheriff Haught rose from her desk, the chair screeching against the floor. Her arm stiffly pointed toward the door. Alice stumbled backward, her eyes wide and shiny with tears. 

"Just…go home," said Sheriff Haught gruffly. "There's nothing here in this town for you." 

Alice blinked a few times. She opened her mouth to retort, maybe with something she had practiced on the long drive to Purgatory She nodded, and stood. "I'm…I'm sorry to have bothered you, Sheriff." 

Nicole watched Alice retreat from the office, and her older self settle back into her work. For a moment, she stopped and looked at the door, considering. 

_You don't really mean that. Go after her, you jerk._ Nicole willed her older self. 

But she just put her head down and returned to work, unfazed by her visitor. 

Nicole stood in front of her older self. Still invisible. She leaned down and put her hands on the desk, their faces almost touching. 

"What the _hell_ was that?" she yelled. "What the hell happened? Why does the office look like shit? You would _never_ stand for that. What _happened to you_? 

The sheriff continued scribbling away, occasionally glancing up to look at the clock, not the invisible visitor inches from her. 

"I just hope to God and Bulshar and every other entity out there that you're kidding, that you're covering for Wynonna and Waverly and you're lying to protect that poor girl who just wanted some _answers_!" 

No response. 

"Because if you aren't…" Nicole swallowed, stepping away from the desk. "That would mean…" 

She looked around the office again. No pictures. No remnants of a lunch brought in. 

She glanced at her hands. 

No ring. 

The band wrapped itself tighter around Nicole's chest. She felt dizzy. The edges of her vision went blurry. 

"No…" 

Nicole followed Alice, but found her gone, retreating to who-knows-where. 

Nicole weaved through the desks of the bullpen, toward the back of the office. Toward the office that housed the workings of the rogue Black Badge Division. 

She burst into the office, not even noticing the thick coating of dust left on her hand from the door knob. 

She skidded to a stop when she stepped into the office. All oxygen left her lungs. 

Whatever Black Badge was, it no longer resided in Purgatory. 

Everything was gone. Computers. White boards. Coffee mugs. Not even an empty donut box was left behind. 

She scanned the room, wondering, like the Homestead, if it was emptied in a hurry, in an attempt to escape. Or bit by bit. One box. Then another. Then more as they realized no amount of planning and scheming or experimenting or negotiating with gods could make this better. 

And the people who occupied this space moved themselves out as well. 

Time to pack it in. 

Leave no trace that Black Badge ever existed. That a motley team of supernatural hunters made their home base the empty office of a run-of-the-mill municipal building. 

No trace…but one. 

Left on a table near, was a piece of paper, yellowed by many years lying dormant, lying next to a crumpled envelope. 

Addressed to Sheriff Nicole R. Haught. 

A letter. 

Jeremy and Robin had eloped once they got settled out on the east coast. They talked about selling Robin's dad's things and Jeremy getting new work. They asked if she got the flowers as an apology for missing the funerals… 

_Funerals._

Nicole's vision blurred again. She didn't read the rest of the letter. Couldn't. She tossed the letter aside with a shaking hand. 

She felt dizzy. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the scenery around her to change and morph into something that was _clearly_ out of a nightmare. 

Nicole sat against the table, running her eyes over the empty room, playing through every possible scenario of how this could have possibly happened… 

"…I told her the truth. Her mom’s gone, there’s nothing for her here. She should just go back where she came from. Get out of this town while she can, before it sucks her in and ruins her life. Like it did mine.” 

Nicole heard herself coming down the back hallway, no doubt on her way out to patrol--it was the route she always took, out the back, when she'd rather retreat to her cruiser than risk being stopped by the public. Nicole crept closer to the door. 

"But… _was_ she really related to all of them?" the same officer who stopped Nicole in the Black Badge office had apparently crossed paths with the sheriff. "I know it's been a while but you know them Earp…ers? Earpites? Earp…fans like to turn up every few years. Just to keep us on our toes." 

She ducked behind the door frame, out from the sliver of a crack in the door, unwilling to face herself again. 

Because she would probably strangle herself. 

"No. Just a kid trying to fill in some pieces of an old family tree. Must've read the names on the documents wrong. No relation whatsoever." 

But Nicole could hear through her own voice, through her own lies, how her voice still hitched when she had to bend the truth. 

_Yes. I knew exactly who she was. And I didn't have the guts to tell her the truth. Because time has turned me into a coward._

"I'm going out on patrol." Nicole heard heavy, booted footsteps pass by the door to the Black Badge office, then pause. 

Nicole's heart stopped. She held her breath. 

"Have you seen my scarf?" Sheriff Haught called down the hallway. 

"Nope. Haven't seen it." 

Sheriff Haught let out a sigh. "Must've left it in the cruiser. I'll be back in a bit." The footsteps resumed, bypassing the Black Badge office, and continuing down the hall, until they disappeared with the clanging shut of a door. 

Nicole let out a sigh of relief. She waited until she heard the side door close before coming out of the office. She wound through the municipal building, out one of the side doors, and onto the streets of Purgatory. 

It was at least still Christmas in this version of Purgatory. The plastic reindeer--the true age of which went debated at many a town council meetings--strung across the streets on flimsy wires. One of the reindeer--Comet, Nicole was pretty sure--was still missing his back hoof. 

Three inches of snow--solidified in a week's worth of sub-zero temperatures--covered the ground. But the town was still alive. 

Barely. 

Everything looked a little grayer, a little more run-down, paint was a little more chipped. 

It seemed impossible to think of moving through this world knowing that there were people missing, people who were so intertwined with her own story. 

_Not that it was much different from how things were before she made the deal with Frau Holle._

_But now Wynonna was gone._

_Maybe._

_There was one more place she could check._

She started to walk. 

She passed by a few dozen people, but found herself not caring if they could see her or not. 

Sheriff Haught made it perfectly clear; this town lost everything good about it when it lost the Earps. 

Her feet seemed to move on their own accord, regardless if anyone tried to stop her. 

Oddly, she got colder the longer she walked. She kept her eyes to the ground. 

Gravel crunched behind her, but Nicole didn't look up until a blue pick-up rolled to a halt beside her. 

A voice called to her that was familiar. And not. 

"You need a ride?" 

Close-up, she saw clear features of Doc. The quirk in the corner of her mouth. The crinkles around her piercing blue eyes. 

The rest was all Wynonna. An edge to her voice that let a person know she'd help them, but they'd be sorry if they even thought of taking advantage of her. The concern in her eyes when someone was in trouble. But still secretive, afraid of revealing too much too soon and to the wrong person. 

"You…you can see me?" 

Alice raised a questioning eyebrow. "Should I _not_ be able to see you?" 

_It's here. Somewhere…_

Nicole pushed the thought away. "Nevermind. But, yeah. I need a ride." 

Alice leaned across the passenger seat and opened the door for Nicole. "Where you headed?" 

Nicole focused on the horizon. "The cemetery." 

"Oh." 

"Just…keep going down this road. I'll tell you when we're there." Nicole tried not to look at Alice, for fear she would notice her uncanny resemblance to the cop who more or less threw her out into the street. 

And part of her knew that if she took one look at Alice, she wouldn't be able to look away. 

Because she was sharing a car with the entire reason they were fighting, why they _kept_ fighting. 

So this person would never have to bear an ounce of the weight her mother does. 

_Did._

"It's only just a bit further down the road. Turn up here." 

Alice pulled into the empty gravel lot. The wrought-iron gate hung lazily open. 

"Thanks," Nicole slid out of the truck. "I might be here a while. You don't have to wait for me. I can find my way back into town." 

"Sure." Alice looked at her, unquestioning, understanding. "Do you know how to get to the Earp Homestead?" 

Nicole paused, her hand still on the car door. 

Right. 

She was back, looking for answers, looking anywhere she could find them. 

"I know, weird name for a house, right? Who does that anymore?" Alice chuckled, her snark resembling her mother's. "But it's apparently where my mom, my granddaddy, my great-granddaddy all were born and raised." 

_Only there's nothing left for you_ Nicole thought. 

Which would be worse, tell her the truth or let her find it out for herself? 

Alone. 

"Just keep going out this road for another ten miles or so. People always miss the last turn. It's hidden by the rocks," Nicole said, her voice already feeling dull. A precursor to the future ahead of her. 

"Thanks," Alice remarked, reaching for the gear shift on her truck. 

"But it's pretty dilapidated now," Nicole quickly amended. "Roof's about to cave in. Rotted floorboards all over the house. Nobody's lived there for a long time. It's more or less condemned at this point. Or...so I hear." 

Alice froze with her hand on the gear shift, her eyes wide. "Really?" 

Nicole gave a faint nod in response. 

"Well, where are they? The Earps?" 

"I…don't know." 

Alice let out a long, frustrated sigh, leaning her head back against the head rest. "Well. Shit. Come back looking for answers and only to find the well's already dried up. Can _nobody_ help me?" 

Alice looked over at Nicole sheepishly. "Sorry…just. Family stuff. Thanks for the directions, though." 

Nicole closed the door and hurried through the gate before she or Alice could say another word. 

Nicole's heart pounded against her ribcage as she stepped through the rusty iron gate, hoping desperately she wouldn't find what she was looking for. 

She knew where Willa's plot was. She went with Waverly once or twice--to mourn, to curse. It was near the entrance to the cemetery, but around a bend to give her a little bit of peace. 

Three headstones flanked Willa and Ward's. 

They were entirely too close for Nicole's liking. 

Her legs felt heavy, yet they kept moving forward. Part of Nicole couldn't bear to take another step, while part of her couldn't stop moving, wanting to know once and for all if this was the future destined for her. For all of them. Her heart pounded harder against her ribcage, her entire being vibrating. Her vision clouded as she got closer, as her eyes welled with tears. 

She let them fall as soon as she was able to read the headstones. 

_John Henry "Doc" Holliday_

_Wynonna Earp_

_Waverly Earp_

She strained through blurred vision to see just _when_ … 

When they all decided they just couldn't win. 

When they decided it was easier to let go. 

_How could they have possibly decided this was easier._

And she had to bury all three of them. 

Alone. 

Was there a ceremony? Or a procedural burial with some hollow words of sorrow from the caretaker? Who else would be there? Or would she have done it alone? Would it be a town tragedy or something that only traveled through town by way of hushed rumors? 

Nicole kneeled in front of Waverly's marker, the cleanest and the most immaculate of the three. 

Or maybe it was just the gray December light. 

She felt no rocks digging into her knees through her jeans and leggings. 

She wondered if there were even any bodies lying beneath her feet. If something actually happened or they were trapped in that other place forever. Or if they just covered supernatural disappearances with headstones and empty graves. 

Exactly on par for Purgatory. 

Emotions cascaded through her veins, fighting for dominance. Pain. Betrayal. Sorrow. Anger. At herself. At Wynonna. At Doc. At Jeremy. 

(Never Waverly.) 

For giving up. 

"Well… _shit_ ," someone murmured behind her. "That bitchy cop was right." 

Nicole winced. 

"Sorry, I know you told me I could leave, but…I was curious." Out of the corner of her eye, Nicole saw Alice sit down beside her, in front of Wynonna's grave. "Did you know these people?" 

Nicole let herself nod, not pulling her gaze away from the etching of the stone angels bordering Waverly's grave. 

Alice ran her gloved fingers over Wynonna's name on the headstone, already weathered down, pausing on the dates. 

_They've been gone for twenty years already._

_Twenty years._

_Without light._

_Without hope._

_A truly awful way to live._

Alice hastily wiped away at her eyes. "I thought I had this family…only to find out they're all gone." 

"I'm…" Nicole swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to choose her words carefully. "I'm sorry." 

Alice wiped at her eyes again, letting out a watery chuckle. "God, _I'm_ sorry. You just met me and now I'm unloading all of my childhood trauma onto you. You don't even _know_ me!" 

Nicole finally let herself look at Alice. 

_Oh, but I do._

_I was there the day you were born._

_I can tell you everything._

Nicole exhaled. "I…spent some time here, a while ago. I know your family." 

"The Earps?" 

Nicole nodded again. "Your mom, dad…your aunt Waverly. All of them." 

"Waverly…was my mom's sister, right?" 

Nicole looked right at Waverly's marker. 

"Yeah…" Nicole breathed out even though she felt her throat constricting. "She was…extraordinary." 

"Can…can you tell me anything else? About my mom? About any of them?" Alice’s words floated on the breeze. Nicole looked at her. 

Something was etched deep into the young face of the woman before her. 

Longing. A desire for something she had been searching for her entire life. 

Hope. 

If this world needed anything, it was hope. 

Nicole stood up, brushing dirt and snow off her pants. She extended a hand to Alice and pulled her up. They nearly stood eye to eye. 

"Can I get you a drink?" 

* * *

At least Shorty's was still the same. 

Whoever took over had the courage to keep things the same. Repair the slot machines, keep the barstools oiled. Fill the taps. 

"This is the place my aunt said she owned," Alice marveled at the grungy bar. "All kinds of crazy stuff happened here!" 

"If these walls could talk…" Nicole smirked, perching herself on an empty stool at the bar. "Did she say that _you_ were born in this very building?" 

Alice froze with her foot on the rung of the bar stool next to Nicole. Her eyes widened "Really?" 

Nicole nodded. She pointed behind Alice. "Right over there, on _that_ pool table, actually." 

Alice looked over her shoulder, finding two gruff men setting up the cue balls. She looked back at Nicole, her eyes wide. "Woah. And…I guess a little gross? What happened? Isn't there a hospital nearby? Or, like, something _slightly_ cleaner than a grimy bar? Like a back alley?" 

Nicole cocked her head to the side. "You really don't know anything, do you?" 

Alice shook her head. "My entire life, nobody's told me a damn thing other than my mom just didn't want me." 

A sour sensation seeped into Nicole's stomach, hearing Alice condemn her mother. She swiveled on her stool to fully face Alice. "Listen, I know what it's like to feel like you don't know your family. Like you don't belong, or there's this piece of you missing. And you spend your whole life looking for it and might not ever find it. But…your mom wanted you as far away from this place as possible. Because she knew your life would be better if you didn't have to deal with any of… _this_." 

"Yeah, but what is all of _this_?" Alice gestured to the bar around them, frustration rising in her voice. "It must've been pretty awful to keep her kid in the dark her entire life, no contact, nothing, making it seem like she didn't love me. _What_ in the world could be _that_ bad?" 

Nicole shook her head, feeling a fresh wave of tears come on. "No, I won't have you believe your mom didn't love you. Because she does-- _did_. She did." 

_We carried you to safety. She wanted you so badly to be safe._

"Oh, yeah? I hope whatever you have to tell me explains why I only have _this_ to remember my mom…" She reached into her backpack and pulled out a raggedy blue bundle. She held it out for Nicole to examine. "My aunt Gus told me I came to her wrapped in this. She kept it all this time." 

_Something saved._

"This doesn't ring any bells for you, does it?" Alice asked disdainfully, leaning back against the bar. She propped her chin on her fist. 

Nicole clutched the blue blanket, faded over twenty-five years, but still as soft as the day Waverly placed the bundle in her arms, wrapped around Wynonna's newborn daughter… 

Nicole let out a breath and placed the blanket on the counter. She looked at Alice. 

"You want the whole story? Or just the parts that involve you?" 

Alice sat up. "What?" 

"I can tell you everything. About your parents. Why your mom sent you away. There's…more to the story than probably what your aunt told you. It's a _lot_ , but I think you deserve to know their story. It's your story, too." 

Nicole waved over the barkeep. "I need a fresh bottle of whiskey," she called. "And two glasses." 

Two glasses and a full bottle of dark amber liquid quickly appeared on the counter between them. Nicole uncorked the bottle and splashed a healthy amount of whiskey into each glass. 

Alice cautiously reached for her glass of whiskey. She swirled the contents around, then looked up at Nicole. "Who _are_ you?" 

Nicole thought a moment, considering how to tell her story…but not tell _her_ story. 

Over and over, like a blinking traffic light, one word came to mind. 

"A guardian," she said. "Of Purgatory and the rest of the Ghost River Triangle. Someone who was once a part of this town. Made it my home. Everything I never knew I wanted was here. A job. A family. And I'm not here for very long. But I can't let these stories be forgotten. 

"So. You in?" Nicole held up her glass to Alice. 

Alice clinked her glass against Nicole's. 

"Like Flynn." 

Nicole smiled and took a swig of her whiskey. 

"Buckle up, kid." 

* * *

Nicole told her everything. 

The story of a curse. 

A family.

Demons. 

Two sisters. 

A man who was half-dragon and afraid of the woods. 

The fastest gunslinger to walk the earth. 

A curmudgeonly sheriff who loved his town as much he loved Uma Thurman. 

A gun with a mind of its own. 

An angel. Or two. 

The fighting. 

The loss. 

How that hard-ass sheriff once had everything she ever wanted. And then lost it all. 

Rounds of patrons flowed in and out of the bar as Nicole spun tales of murder trees and demonic goo and beautiful vampires and ancient guardians disguised as cowboys and firefighters. Cliffside rescues, daring gun fights, true love. Miracles. 

And nobody paid attention but Alice. To everyone else, they were ghost stories, urban legends. Tales from a time long gone, meant to be forgotten. 

Alice's whiskey went untouched as she sat, completely enraptured with every word that came out of Nicole's mouth. No questions. A few escaped tears and snorts of laughter. A fist-pump when she heard her mom and dad split a bullet. 

When she finished, Nicole set her empty glass on the counter. She placed a hand on Alice's knee. "I know it doesn't bring them back. But hopefully you get to move on with your life knowing that you had this _incredible_ family that fought as hard as they could to give you the life--" 

Alice cut Nicole off by launching herself forward off her stool, flinging her arms around Nicole. Nicole wrapped Alice tightly in her arms, squeezing every ounce of love and protection she could muster. 

_I've got you, Earp._

"Thank you," Alice's voice came through thick and watery. 

Nicole hugged her tighter. "I gave you all I have to give. I just wish I could give you more." 

Alice suddenly pulled away from Nicole, her eyes wide. 

"What is it?" 

Nicole spun around on her stool, looking in the same direction as Alice. 

Toward the entrance to Shorty's. 

Where her older self, hat in hand, stood, casually leaning against the door frame, scanning the bar. 

"I think she's looking for you," said Nicole. "Don't worry about me. Go. I'll leave you two. Looks like you have some catching up to do." 

Alice looked back and forth between Nicole and the sheriff. Nicole nodded toward the door. 

"Go." 

Alice cautiously slid off the stool and edged toward the door. 

Nicole poured herself another glass of whiskey, if only just for something to do as she listened for the conversation behind her. 

"You're looking for me, aren't you? I hope it's to say you're sorry. And you were right, there _is_ nothing left for me in this town." 

Nicole let herself smile. The bravado. The do-no-harm-take-no-shit, you-made-a-mistake-when-you-crossed-an-Earp brazenness. 

Just like her mother. 

"So unless you're here to say--" 

"D'you…do you want to go get something to eat?" Some of the gruffness had diminished from her voice, it even surprised Nicole. "Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?" 

Nicole couldn't hear Alice's reply. She looked over her shoulder, finding them standing face-to-face in the doorway. She saw Alice shiver in the breeze of the drafty door of the bar. Her older self instinctively reached for the cream and blue scarf around her neck, and draped it over Alice's shoulders. 

Alice paused, shocked by the gesture. She looked up at the sheriff in disbelief, the childlike look returning. 

Nicole watched her older self place her hands on Alice's shoulders. She said something to Alice, and that hard, stone-like façade cracked open and Nicole Haught came to life once more. 

"I'm sorry, Alice Michelle. I am so, so sorry." 

She gathered Alice in her arms, stroking her hair. Alice buried her face into her chest, her shoulders shaking with a few escaped sobs. 

She then guided Alice out of the bar, Alice leaning her head on her shoulder, the door swinging shut behind them. 

A warm wave radiated through Nicole's body. And it wasn't from the whiskey. 

A warmth that felt a lot like hope. 

A scrap of light blue caught Nicole's eye. She reached across the counter and grabbed the blanket. She tucked the scrap of blanket into her jacket pocket and let the flurry of snow overtake her. 

* * *

Nicole fell face-first into the bank of snow. Two hands grab the back of her jacket and hoist her onto her feet. 

"Thank Dolly Parton you're back. You were just outta time," Wynonna brushed snow off of Nicole's front. 

The sound of Wynonna's voice sent a tidal wave of relief through Nicole. She shoved Wynonna's hands away, instead opting for flinging her arms around Wynonna, nearly sending them both tumbling to the ground again. Wynonna steadied herself, offering Nicole a half-hearted back pat in return. 

"Okay, when I said you were almost out of time, I didn't really mean…I mean we probably have a few more hours…" Wynonna mumbled into Nicole's shoulder. Nicole squeezed her tightly once more before releasing her, keeping her hands at her shoulders. 

"Wynonna, you were dead," said Nicole breathlessly. 

Wynonna started blankly at her. "Like… _dead_ dead or my-sister-made-a-deal-with-a-witch-to-save-the-love-of-her-life-and-sent-me-to-a-dark-alternate-reality…dead." 

"I mean saw what happened if we… _I_ failed. The 'world of what-could-be'. We gave up. We couldn't save them. I was this miserly, old widow, Jeremy and Robin just left Purgatory and you--" A rush of hot tears bloomed in Nicole's eyes. "You were gone. Dead. Couldn't take it anymore. All because we couldn't save them. And Alice was even there and--" 

"Wait," Wynonna held up a hand to stop Nicole. "You…you saw Alice?" 

"Yeah. All grown up. She was back, trying to look for answers. Trying to find her family." 

Wynonna opened and closed her mouth in bewilderment. All she could muster up was "Oh." 

Nicole nodded in earnest. "But it's okay now! That doesn't have to be our future, _her_ future. I got the last item. We're…going to get them back. I have it right here…" Nicole reached into her jacket pocket. 

Then her other pocket. 

Both pockets. Again. 

"Come on, Haught," said Wynonna roughly, clearing her throat. "Quit with the games. Pull it out, it's almost sundown." 

Nicole checked her pockets again. 

And again. 

And every time she checked, they were still empty. 

She looked up at an expectant Wynonna. "I don't have it." Her voice was so hollow it sounded like the wind. 

Wynonna blinked. "I'm sorry, I thought I just heard you say you didn't have it." 

"I don't have it," Nicole repeated, louder this time. 

"You're joking," Wynonna gave Nicole a playful shove on the shoulder. Nicole almost fell sideways off the bumper. Everything suddenly felt heavy. "What is it that Frau Halle Berry had you find this time? A tea cozy? An oven mitt?" 

Nicole looked at Wynonna. She gave her a helpless shrug. 

"You just told me what happens when we don't get them back and now you're telling me you _don't have the thing that could get them back?_ " 

"Wynonna, I don't--" 

"Don't you tell me you don't have it, Nicole Haught!" Wynonna exclaimed, her eyes suddenly shiny. 

She took a few shaky steps away from Nicole. Then, she turned around started right for the arch. She hurled herself through. Her boot caught on a stray root, sending her sprawling not back into the world of the foretold, but into a bank of snow. 

Nicole ran over to her, hoisting her to her feet. Wynonna wrenched herself from Nicole's grip. She paced around in front of the arch, muttering to herself, looking for any signs, any way to try again. 

"Wynonna--" 

"YOU WANTED THIS! YOU WANTED TO DO THIS!" 

"SHE TRICKED ME!" Nicole yelled back, her voice cracking. "She tricked me, and you were _right_ and I'm _sorry_." 

Nicole's words rang across the empty landscape, the only other sounds her heavy breathing, Wynonna settling into the snow, stopped short by Nicole's outburst. 

Wynonna clenched her fists once, twice. Then, she stepped toward Nicole. 

"What was the item?" Her voice low, her eyes dark. 

Nicole looked down, tears dripping down her nose and into the snow. 

"Alice's baby blanket." 

She didn't have to look at Wynonna to know that she let her own tears fall. 

"I'm so sorry, Wynonna..." 

"You should be sorry." 

They spun around, and what Nicole saw made her blood run cold. 

"Frau Holle…" Nicole breathed. 

Frau Holle floated under the arch. Her entire figure turned black and inky, stark against the wintry wilderness behind her. Her floating robes morphed into tentacles, swirling around her. 

The only spot of light on her entire being were her eyes, a pair of slits glowing a menacing yellow. 

"You have failed me, travelers," her low voice boomed. 

"No, we didn't!" Nicole cried. "I…I had it right here with me--the blanket--" 

"You did not bring me my final gift," Frau Holle growled. 

"I _tried_ ," Nicole exclaimed, her throat tightening. "I thought it was…but you _tricked_ me." 

"I gave you _every_ hint and _every_ helping hand and still you failed me, travelers!" 

"You want a gift?" Wynonna strutted over to her truck. Yanking open the door, she scrounged around inside, pulling out a wool blanket. She hurled it at Frau Holle's feet. "Here. There's your final gift. Take it or leave it." 

Frau Holle roared, sending the blanket flying into the woods with a flick of her wrist. 

"So…what now, are you going to take us, too? Take us! Can't be much worse than the future you promised me!" 

"You mock me, travelers, after you fail me. This is what you have earned." She waved a hand and suddenly middle of the arch glowed with golden light. Through it, they saw outlines of shadowy figures. One tall, with a cowboy hat. The other, with a much slighter frame… 

The Garden. 

" _Wynonna? Nicole? Is that you? Help!_ " 

Without thinking, Nicole headed back for the arch. 

"Waverly!" 

Nicole plodded clumsily through the snow, her feet catching every rock, patch of ice. 

Nevertheless, she persisted. 

_Closer, closer…just a little bit more…_

Nicole closed her eyes as she sprinted forward the last few yards, blinded by the light. 

_Nicole, no!"_

She collided with something stronger than steel. 

And then, she was floating, flying. 

Then, silence. 

And everything hurt. 

She opened her eyes. 

Everything was still cold. Everything still dark. 

They were on the ground once more, back near the cars. 

The first thing that came into focus was Frau Holle, her arms outstretched before her, holding a shimmering forcefield in front of her and the door. 

"This is what you have earned…" Frau Holle repeated. She lowered an arm, pointing it toward the glowing yellow light. The light got smaller as the door slammed shut. She snapped her spindly fingers, and the door vanished. The only thing that filled the archway was the spindly, bare trees. 

Wynonna was still on her feet, Peace Maker unsheathed and pointed straight at Frau Holle. "And you've earned a place in Hell right alongside all the other demons that have dared to mess with me and my family." 

If the Frau said anything else, it went unheard under Wynonna's cry of fury as she ran toward Frau Holle, Peace Maker slicing through the air. 

Nicole squeezed her eyes shut as Wynonna made one final move to strike Frau Holle down. 

A sonic boom echoed through the woods, the sound waves sending Nicole toppling backwards once more. 

Then, silence. 

Nicole dared to open her eyes. She found Wynonna frantically looking around. 

Alone. 

"No!" Wynonna cried. "You don't get to disappear on me. You want to end this, we do it the old-fashioned way! I won't even use the sword." She dropped Peace Maker into the snow with a soft *plop*. She immediately picked it up again. 

"Come _back_ here!" 

"Wynonna…" Nicole croaked, barely able to hear her own voice. "She's gone…It's over. We couldn't do it." 

If Wynonna heard her, she didn't show it. She ran back through the arch, looking up into the trees. Looking for any sign that they weren't finished. 

"See, Nicole, there are snowflakes!" She cried, pointing up to the sky. "that means she's coming back! Maybe she realized there was a mistake, or…" 

But there was no cyclone of snowflakes funneling through the ancient stones. Just fluffy flakes drifting from the sky. 

As Wynonna continued her manic calling and searching and waving of Peace Maker--which would eventually end in her slinking off to her truck and guzzling the entire bottle of alcohol hidden in the glove compartment--Nicole sank deeper into the snow, her pants soaking through, the cold of the outside of her body matching the cold of the inside. She felt the future contained in that other world barreling toward her. And she didn't have the strength to stop it. She waited for tears to come. But none came. 

She was empty. 

_This is what you have earned._

___ _

Dark. 

Cold. 

Empty. 

Gone. 

Lost. 

_End._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience on this one, fam.
> 
> Parts of this chapter have been in the works since the very beginning of my journey with this story.
> 
> And, yes, there is one last chapter. It shall be up soon.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are so, so appreciated and will get you points into the Good Place.
> 
> \---
> 
> For personal inquiries: @TeachEarp_ on the Twitters.


	5. Headed back to where their hearts belong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just do the next right thing...

*Thunk*

_*Thunk*_

_*THUNK*_

Nicole's eyes shot open, arms flailing, restrained across her chest by her seatbelt.

Panicked, she looked around, blinking as her eyes adjusting to the beams of cool light streaming in through the snow speckled on her windshield. She was in her police vehicle, sitting idle on the side of a snowy, abandoned road.

_*THUNK*_

Another snowball exploded onto the side of the car.

"You asleep on the job again, Haught?" she heard the familiar, teasing voice, though muffled as it came from outside the vehicle.

Nicole fumbled with the seatbelt buckle as she quickly tried to release it and threw open the car door, nearly knocking her visitor over.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

Nicole nearly fell out of the SUV and slipped on the icy ground. She sprinted away from the car, completely bypassing Wynonna.

She stepped into the empty road, staring at the spot that, surely, in minutes, a supernatural deity would appear, offering them a false chance at answers, at victory.

But none came.

Snow crunched behind her until a figure appeared at her side.

"Nicole. What's going on?"

"Shhhhh!" Nicole waved her hand to quiet Wynonna.

A frozen tumbleweed danced across the road.

Nicole spun around to face Wynonna, who was holding a large, silver thermos.

"What day is it?"

"The twenty-first?" Wynonna eyed Nicole warily.

Nicole didn't wait for another response before she threw her arms around Wynonna. They staggered backward. Wynonna dropped the thermos, a metallic _clunk_ echoing down the alleyway.

"Woah there, sheriff. I just saw you, what…two hours ago?" Wynonna awkwardly patted Nicole's back.

Nicole ignored her. "Oh my God. We're back to the beginning. She hasn't come…or _won't_ come or _didn't_ or…whatever!"

"Who hasn't come? Is that what you were doing out here all by yourself? I know Waverly's been gone, but there are _other_ ways to get you some action--"

Nicole just squeezed her tighter.

"You're _okay_ …It's all going to be okay."

"Yeah…" Wynonna leaned away from the embrace. "But are _you_ okay? What was in your coffee this morning? And, if you're done, can I have some?"

Nicole stepped away from Wynonna.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about." It didn't come out as a question. The realization sent a wave of relief through Nicole's body, enough to warm her in the frigid December morning. She nearly hugged Wynonna again.

"Should I?"

"No," Nicole exhaled, letting a smile spread across her face. "Not at all."

They stood there gift-less. Pact-less.

Still Doc- and Waverly-less.

Nicole stole another glance toward the patch of road meant to hold a deity. And something in her ignited.

She marched back to her vehicle and climbed in.

"Where are you going?" Wynonna cried. She leaned down to scoop up the thermos. "I _just_ got here! And I brought you more coffee!"

Nicole ignored her. "I'm going to go into town and rearrange the schedule. See who I can move around. I don't think Sheriff needs to be on duty Christmas Eve _and_ Christmas Day."

Wynonna caught the door just as Nicole was about to close it. "Okay, now I _really_ need to know what was in your coffee. Because last night you were all 'Bah Humbug!' and now you're all 'God bless us, everyone!' Did you tap into that secret stash of caffeine that Nedley has in the narcotics locker?"

Nicole shrugged casually, starting up the cruiser. "Guess I just needed a little more sleep."

* * *

The next three days played out in a flurry of activity as Nicole made up for every Christmas ritual forgone that year. Cookie-making, tree-decorating, movie marathons, incessant playing of Christmas tunes. Adding a little too much eggnog to her morning coffee. She made each of her officers plates of cookies and delivered them on Christmas Eve.

Nevertheless, it all culminated in Nicole and Wynonna lounging around the living room of the Homestead on Christmas Day--Nicole stuffed into one of the armchairs with her legs swung over the side, Wynonna rummaging around the living room booze cabinet--awaiting Jeremy and Robin's arrival, at which point they would marathon the _Die Hard_ movies and eat pad thai and stuffing and gravy and too much alcohol to celebrate just…making it.

"Now that you've sat down for more than five minutes…Can I ask you something?" A glass of whiskey dangled next to Nicole's head. She took it.

"Must be serious, you're _asking_ if you can ask a question," Nicole sipped at her whiskey.

"Why are you so holly and jolly all of a sudden? It's like you're trying to open up the gates of the Garden by doing all the Christmas things." Wynonna paused, perching herself on the window seat. "That's… _not_ why you're doing this, right? Is there something I don't know?"

All week, Nicole considered telling Wynonna of the strange dream, the Scandinavian goddess, the deal, the gifts…

But what good would that do?

"No," Nicole sipped at her whiskey. "Just…felt like I needed to get myself out of a rut. You know, that we've kind of all been in since…"

Wynonna nodded in response, not wanting to finish the sentence as much as Nicole.

She and Wynonna let a silence settle over them, only accompanied by the crackling fire before them.

The quiet, the stillness, made Nicole feel uneasy.

Even after four straight days of merriment, when the night and the quiet came at the end of each day, something still gnawed at Nicole's stomach, still lurking in the back of her mind.

_What if…what if we can't do it after all? What if I blew our last chance?_

No.

None of that.

Not anymore.

"Promise you'll never give up?" Nicole sat up and raised her glass to Wynonna.

Wynonna furrowed her brow. "What are you even talking about, I would never--"

"Promise?"

Wynonna sighed, then nodded. "Promise." She clinked her glass against Nicole's and drained her drink in one gulp. She set her glass down on the coffee table with a pointed _thunk_

"Okay, I'm ready for presents."

"But Jeremy and Robin aren't here yet," Nicole protested.

"We can present pre-game," Wynonna wandered over to the small tree--hauled in from one of the back fields not two days prior--and began rummaging through the small pile of parcels.

"This one from you?" Wynonna held up a squashy package wrapped in silver paper.

Nicole squinted at the item in Wynonna's hand. "No. You _know_ how seriously I take gift tagging. Think it's from Jeremy?"

Wynonna shook her head, examining the package again. "Tag was a bit smudged. Said it was for me, though!" She ripped open the package, revealing a bundle covered in candy-striped tissue paper. She unfolded the tissue and pulled out a wad of dark blue yarn.

"A…hat?"

Nicole froze, her glass halfway to her mouth to finish her drink.

_"Come, traveler…"_

She looked around the room, finding Wynonna examining her gift, unfazed by the voice that was surely too loud to go completely unnoticed.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Wynonna yanked on the hat, finding it fit her perfectly.

_"I await you outside, traveler…"_

Nicole sat up, craning her neck toward the window.

"I…thought I heard something coming from outside. I think I'm going to check it out…" Nicole placed her glass on the table next to the couch. She grabbed her jacket and stepped outside.

The late December sun already hovered dangerously close to the horizon. The remaining light was just enough to illuminate the silvery, spectral form waiting for her a few yards in front of the porch.

"Of course it's you."

Nicole stopped on the top stair and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're lucky I don't call Wynonna out here and have her run you through with Peace Maker."

Frau Holle chuckled. "The heir seems to try and use that hunk of metal to solve all of her problems. Humans perplex me."

Nicole rolled her eyes. "What do you want? You _would_ show up just as we were opening presents."

Frau Holle held up her hands in defense. "I suppose you desire an explanation for why the last few days appear to have been erased from all memories but yours and mine. Or why I even called upon you in the first place."

Nicole leaned against the railing. "For starters. Sure."

"Much like the tides, time ebbs and flows. My youthful look, as you may have noticed, is tied to the sands of time. And I require certain items to maintain my spectral form. And I alone cannot obtain them. They must be…given."

"So you took advantage of a couple of heart-broken people…just to keep your beauty?" Nicole deadpanned.

Frau Holle gave her a sheepish shrug in return. "Yes. Pride and vanity. They are truly my weaknesses."

"You forgot selfishness," Nicole added, a bitter edge to her voice. 

"Yes. And I am here to mend that grievance as well. I started this quest with a desire for something belonging to whom you had lost. I find it only fitting that I… _return_ a few things."

Nicole's heart leapt. "You mean--"

Frau shook her head. "No. Sadly, it will not be your greatest desires. I am afraid that is even beyond even what I know."

"So, when I thought you opened the gate to the Garden, in that other reality…"

"A mere projection. A magic trick. I fear there are forces at work more powerful than I that prevent your journey to ever come to completion. Even _I_ do not know what lies beyond those gates."

"Oh." Nicole's heart sank.

"Oh, do not be so discouraged, traveler." Frau Holle's face softened, her tone gentle and soothing. "Through our time together, I believe that you and your kin have what it takes to get _your_ treasures back. There are forces surrounding _you_ , working in your favor. Why do you think I sought out you?"

"Because we were desperate?" Nicole scoffed.

The flicker of a smile danced across Frau Holle's face. "Because you were worthy."

_Worthy_

A word meant for heroes.

The Frau continued. "As I said before I had my little…tantrum, I'm amazed that your species has always managed to survive such atrocity and tragedy. It is…quite remarkable. Your decision to follow the girl instead of yourself was…admirable."

Nicole's arms dropped to her sides. "You didn't mean for me to follow Alice…"

Frau Holle shook her head. "I thought setting you on yourself, so far away from what you know to be your true self, you would stop at nothing to right things. And then, you would find your gift."

"I couldn't let her live without knowing her story."

"And that, traveler, is a more powerful gift than anything I could hope to get."

Nicole furrowed her brow. "Still…Why give me another chance?"

"Your purpose is truly served in this world. You do not deserve the future I showed you," Frau answered. "You deserve everything that future wasn't. Be the guardian. Of your family, of your town, of these stories. Your gift awaits you, guardian. And I hope it to be a reminder. Of what you have. Of what you all _truly_ deserve."

_Gifts…_

Of course.

"So you gave Wynonna the hat. Did Jeremy--"

"Your friend will also find a package at home that resembles the garment he showed great interest in when you were in the world of fantasy," Frau Holle let out a chuckle.

"And…me? Do I get Wynonna's daughter's blanket?"

Frau Holle shrugged. "You forget that was not the intended gift. It will become apparent soon. But now… I suggest you get back to your family. Be safe, travelers." Nicole watched her as she waved a hand toward the house.

Nicole looked back at the house, waiting for a cry of help or pain…but none came.

"I still don't trust…" Nicole's words trailed off as she turned back around, finding she was standing in the December evening, all alone. A northern gust of wind kicked up a handful of powdery flakes that drifted across the path.

And, around her shoulders, suddenly hung a long band of blue and cream-colored fabric.

The one she had last seen draped across the shoulders of Alice.

And, before that…years before…

_What happened to friends?_

_I scare you?_

_Maybe you should stop talking…_

It still smelled like lavender.

Nicole knew exactly what she needed to do.

"Who was that?" Wynonna called as Nicole toed off her boots once she was back inside the house.

"Nothing," Nicole replied, quickly hiding the scarf behind her back. "Just coyotes. Scared 'em off, though."

Wynonna gave her an affirming nod. "Good. Back to presents! We're just getting into the good stuff! You aren't going to _believe_ what I got you!"

"Give me a minute. I have to check something…"

She climbed the stairs one more time.

She opened the bedroom door, finding the other side dusty, stagnant.

She crept across the room.

She lay the scarf on the bed.

Then, she opened the curtains, letting in the last whispers of the Yuletide light.

One last look around.

The last time she hoped to ever see it empty.

She left the door open.

To let the light in.

Because one day, there will be life in that room once more.

Of that, she was certain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe in always offering a little bit of hope to my readers, no matter how bleak things are. It's how we humans have managed to survive. I think it's how we're surviving all of... _this_ right now.
> 
> To those of you who have stuck around with this since the beginning--thanks.
> 
> Thanks to my pre-readers and cheerleaders. You know who you are.
> 
> Onto the next Thing.
> 
> Kudos and comments will get you points into the Good Place.
> 
> Stay safe and well out there, fam <3
> 
> Personal inquiries: @TeachEarp_ on the Twitters


End file.
